Unnatural Evolution
by whoa nellie
Summary: The Delta Expedition encounters an old nemesis and life for some of them will never be the same.  CONTENT WARNING: Contains sensitive subject matter that some may find upsetting.


Title: Unnatural Evolution

Author: Whoa Nellie

Series: TNG

Codes: P/V, R/T, C/Chakotay, B/Ez, Odan, crew

Summary: The Delta Expedition encounters an old nemesis and life for some of them will never be the same. CONTENT WARNING: Contains sensitive subject matter that some may find upsetting-no graphic depictions of violence or character death, just situations and discussions of a serious, sensitive and adult nature.

Author's notes: This occurs in the Reasons of the Heart timeline which launched a deep space expedition toward the Delta Quadrant in a previous story, History's Legacy. There are references to previous Whoa Nellie stories: Divergences and Ghost, which might be helpful to have read but hopefully there's enough information that it's not essential for enjoying the story. This story was originally posted to ASC on March 18, 2011. Feel free to archive to any pertinent site.

As always: Paramount owns all the marbles, we just have a lot more fun playing with them.

Feedback is always appreciated - posted or e-mail.

UNNATURAL EVOLUTION

Commander Chakotay sat at a workstation onboard the shuttle John Kelly waiting for his transmission to go through. After a couple of minutes, the Starfleet insignia was replaced by an image of Captain Jean-Luc Picard. "Captain."

"Commander," Picard acknowledged. "Report."

Chakotay had taken a first contact team on a mission to scout out a system that showed evidence of technological advancement amid several populated planets. It was more than a week's travel off the Delta Expedition's current heading, so he'd brought the advance team to make contact and determine if they were amenable to a visit from strangers to their region. Given some of the xenophobic races that Voyager had encountered, he wasn't taking for granted that even a technologically advanced society would welcome the Delta Expedition with open arms. "Very friendly and open to an exchange of information. They call themselves Tauri. They're humanoid and, from what I've seen, at least as technologically advanced as the Federation. They are aware of and conduct business regularly with alien races. In fact, I'm scheduled to meet with ambassadors from neighboring systems tomorrow. I recommend the expedition alter course. The government and primary center of commerce is the second planet in the system. Their patrol ships have already been advised that you're friendly and welcome should you decide to come this way."

"Acknowledged; good work, Commander. I look forward to reading your report. See you in a week."

...

The capital building on the Tauri homeworld was a massive, architectural wonder, breath-taking from a distance and even more impressive up close. Picard studied the intricate details and various designs incorporated into the structure, noting the patterns that repeated in buildings throughout the city. Simple beauty, eye-catching without being overly ornate; he was anxious to become acquainted with the people of this world. This was the fundamental objective of the Delta Expedition, to explore the Delta Quadrant and get to know new worlds, new races. He was the fleet captain for a three ship Federation colony exploring the uncharted space of the Delta Quadrant.

"Captain Jean-Luc Picard," Commander Chakotay was making the initial introductions. "I present Premier Je'nau of the Tauri."

"It's an honor to met you, Premier," Picard said.

Je'nau extended his right hand. "I understand from your Commander Chakotay that this is how your people greet friends, Captain."

Picard took the proffered hand. "It is, Premier, and I hope it represents the beginning of a long friendship between our people."

Chakotay continued the introductions with Je'nau shaking each hand in turn. "This is Captain William Riker and Captain Beverly Crusher, they command the other two vessels in our expedition. Dr. Julian Bashir is the head of our Medical department and Commander Hawking is the head of the Physical Sciences department. They will be meeting with your experts here while others of your people are touring the ships."

"Yes," Picard jumped in. "Our senior officers are standing by to personally escort your representatives on a tour of our ships."

Je'nau grinned. "An opportunity that created quite the fuss among them, I assure you. They are all anxious to see your vessels. We have had encounters with many alien races but none from so far a distance or in vessels of such size. The diversity of the races your group is comprised of presents an opportunity for knowledge that has nearly all of our academics practically drooling. The star charts alone that your Commander Chakotay has already shared will keep our astronomers busy for quite some time."

"My people are also looking forward to our exchange of knowledge," Picard replied. "Commander Chakotay informed me that you have approved a request for our people to visit your planet so I would gladly offer reciprocation and allow any of your population to visit my ship, the Enterprise. The other two ships are support vessels, mostly crew quarters and labs-nothing very interesting to the general population; the Enterprise is the social center of our expedition, but we would be happy to arrange guided tours of either of those ships for anyone interested. Just have them make a request to my First Officer, Commander Data, and he'll take care of the arrangements."

Je'nau make a small bow of gratitude. "Quite right, Captain, friendship must grow from a small seedling; it cannot burst fully formed from the ground. Once our initial meetings have concluded, I will let our general population know of the opportunity and assign one of my aides to coordinate with your Commander Data."

Chakotay gestured to one of the members of his First Contact team. "I'm meeting with their Cultural Studies experts to finish reviewing our cultural and historical databases. That building is near the Central Hospital and Scientific Studies buildings so I'll show Dr. Bashir and Commander Hawking to their meetings on my way. Mr. Yarnek here will escort your people up to the ships and introduce them to their counterparts among our people there."

"Captain Picard," Je'nau said. "Myself along with the rest of our Ruling Council would very much like an audience with you. If you're agreeable to that . . . "

"Of course, Premier."

Je'nau continued. "Commander Chakotay recommended that our Security Division chiefs might enjoy a meeting with Captain Riker and Marshal Ti'nak is here to escort him to the Security headquarters. Captain Crusher, arrangements have been made for you to address our Ambassadorial Division. All of the representatives from surrounding systems and races are anxiously awaiting you. My personal aide will escort you."

Riker spoke up. "I hope you won't be offended if our people are accompanied by escorts from our expedition. On an unknown world, we have rules about people traveling alone-at least until we know each other better."

Je'nau nodded. "Of course, Commander Chakotay explained some of your procedures. We have no objections at all. I would ask that your hand weapons be restricted to what you call your stun setting while on our world. The possession of lethal weapons is restricted among the general population."

It was Riker's turn to nod. "Commander Chakotay's report included that stipulation. I've already seen to it and your security people are welcome to examine the phasers if you'd like."

...

Deanna waited until all of the members of her group stepped off the turbolift. She was conducting a tour of the Enterprise-F for some of the Tauri government officials through the social areas of the ship after they'd been shown the research labs and Engineering. This was their final stop. "This is what we call the community deck, or C-deck. It has a wide variety of eating establishments, both formal and informal, and different places that specialize in cuisine from specific cultures. There are also places for socializing such as lounges to get together for quiet conversations or clubs for music or dancing. There's a special play area for children with equipment and activities designed to facilitate their physical development. There are also a variety of entertainment venues, including a concert hall and theater as well as holodecks and holosuites."

One of the Tauri delegates stared, his mouth agape, at several Bolians walking past them. "Do you have different areas for each of the races among you?"

"No," Deanna answered, aware of his amazement at some of the visually-unusual species on the ship. "Everyone lives and works together. Certain cultures prefer eating specific foods but replicators in private quarters can produce almost anything. C-deck is where people come to socialize with their friends or co-workers, a communal area."

"And this entire deck is nothing but these social areas?" Another of the delegates asked, looking into the facilities as they walked past.

Deanna smiled, the Enterprise was a large ship, which meant that this deck was a fairly vast area. "There are several thousand individuals on this expedition and this deck serves as a social area for all of them.

"This ship holds-"

"No," Deanna cut him off. "Some of the members of the expedition live and work on one of the other two ships. There are a lot of married couples and families on the expedition and in some of those cases, they actually serve on different ships. They live on one of the ships and then transport to their assigned vessel for their duty shifts. My husband is the captain of the Titan and I live in the captain's quarters with him there but I work here on the Enterprise, overseeing the Psychology Department and report to Captain Picard. The majority of the people do live and work on the Enterprise, but not all. Everyone is welcome to transport here to enjoy C-deck no matter which ship they're assigned to or live on. Captain Picard has extended an invitation for people from your planet to transport aboard and enjoy the amenities on C-deck during our time here as well."

One of the female Tauri delegates touched Deanna's arm to get her attention. "You mentioned holodecks before? What exactly are those if I may ask?"

Deanna gestured to a door just ahead. "I've actually arranged a demonstration for you, if you'd follow me inside."

...

Beverly was trying to maintain a dignified pace down the corridor toward her quarters. Between her meetings with various ambassadors and government officials and Chakotay coordinating the diplomatic functions and overseeing the knowledge exchanges between the various departments, this was their first opportunity for some private time after a nearly three week absence. He had called her ready room ten minutes ago to let her know he was home. The chirp of her commbadge broke her stride. "Crusher here."

'Captain,' LaForge's voice came over the comm link. 'We've received a request for the use of a shuttle. There's apparently a nature preserve on the third planet and several of our people would like to check it out. They do have permission from local authorities.'

"Has Captain Riker approved long distance exploration in this system?" She could just approve the request, but since the Titan would be responsible for their safety, Riker did have a say in how far expedition personnel went from the ships.

'Yes, Captain, within the system only without Titan personnel. I'm still inclined to send two security officers along as a precaution. One of the group is Dr. Randall so if you approve, I was going to let Mark provide escort for the group.'

Geordi had proven to be a great First Officer. She still regretted the loss of Commander Kole; however, LaForge had stepped in and performed beyond her expectations. "Sounds good, Commander. Approve the request but I'd like them to check in on a regular schedule. Work it out with Mr. Randall."

'Aye, Captain.'

She was already shrugging out of her uniform jacket when she entered their quarters. She had missed that smile, the dimples that punctuated it and those deep, brown eyes. Flinging her jacket over a chair, she headed straight into the bedroom where he was unpacking his bag. Eagerness to see him turned into a much more carnal anticipation the instant her lips claimed his. She cradled his head in her hands and held him close as her tongue delved into his mouth to find and caress his tongue. His full, sensuous lips met hers, matching her passion and desire. After long moments, they broke off the kiss with both of them breathing heavily.

"Hi to you, too, Fireball," Chakotay murmured, his dimples winking at her. "I just came from the Enterprise and with all of the people from the planet visiting, it'll be impossible to get a table anywhere on C-deck so I figured we'd just eat here tonight. And before I get too distracted, there was a group of Tauri doctors-"

She was sitting on the chair in their bedroom pulling off her boots. "Geordi arranged a tour of our facilities for them. Data called over a little while ago to arrange tours of the biology and botany labs for some of their people, which I asked Geordi to see to as I was leaving the bridge. It's all taken care of. I have taken my last diplomatic meeting, at least for the preliminary exchanges. You have handed off the Tauri to Jean-Luc for the next stage of diplomatic relations. Now that my duties and yours have been seen to, we both have nothing better to do than get re-acquainted. Take off your clothes."

Chuckling at her forthright amorousness, he kicked off his own boots and reached for the waistband of his uniform trousers. "Aye, aye, Captain Fireball."

With Chakotay living on the Pasteur with her but heading up the Anthropological Sciences department of the expedition on the Enterprise, spending time together wasn't nearly as simple as coming home after a duty shift. She had responsibilities as captain on the Pasteur and he had his responsibilities and regular bridge duty on the Enterprise. After a three week separation, she wasn't interested in talking or foreplay. She just wanted him. Swiftly sliding her own trousers off and kicking them away, she stripped off her shirt and stalked toward him clad only in her bra and panties.

This was the way to see the Delta Quadrant. There were still alien races to meet, some friendly and some not. There were spatial anomalies and astronomical phenomenon to see and study. There were unknowns around every corner, figuratively speaking and yet there were also these moments when he was home.

"Well," she gasped breathlessly much later. "I know they say absence makes the heart grow fonder but that's a really nice effect, too."

...

"Here, taste this." LaForge broke off a piece of the confection he was eating and handed it to Data. The two men had managed to arrange their schedules so they could take shore leave on Tauri together. Now that both of them were First Officers, they had only been able to talk by way of ship-to-ship communications. This was the first time they had been able to get together, in fact, it was the first time Geordi had been off the Pasteur since he had transferred over. He hadn't planned it that way; he had assumed that he would be able to beam over to C-deck during his off-duty time on occasion. Between putting the Pasteur back together after their run-in with the Vaadwaur and learning her crew-his new crew, he had just lost track of the time. He was determined to enjoy every last minute away from the ship since he didn't know when his next opportunity might be. The two men were exploring the various vendor booths in an open-air market situated in the center of the Tauri capital city. The Central Marketplace was one of the major attractions and LaForge had already seen nearly a dozen expedition members browsing through the assorted goods on display.

"That substance is 98.4% pure disaccharide," Data informed him. "There is no nutritional value."

LaForge took a big bite of the sweet. "Your point being?"

"While the taste is most pleasant," Data acknowledged, "the substance does not contribute to the dietary needs of the human body in any way."

LaForge gave him a friendly shove. "C'mon, Data, as long as you've had your emotion chip, don't tell me you haven't learned to appreciate indulging in something just for the pure pleasure of it."

"Activities, certainly," Data said. "For me, the simple act of eating is an indulgence; however, the human body has specific nutritional requirements that must be met on a daily basis for optimum performance."

Finishing the confection, LaForge licked his fingers. "Well, since I barely have time to gulp down nutritional supplements these days, I am overdue for some indulging. I really envy you, Data. I would love to not need sleep since I don't seem to have enough time in my day for it anyway."

"Are you not enjoying your new position, Geordi?" Data asked.

"Nah, it's great; it's just a lot of responsibility-like having to deal with all of these researchers, mostly civilians, and make sure everyone is working and playing well with everyone else. Then there's ship status reports, crew duty rosters; it's pretty challenging but I am really enjoying it."

"That is good," Data said. "I am similarly enjoying the challenges of my position as First Officer. I have also encountered situations on the Enterprise involving the expectations of researchers so I do understand the frustrations that can occur."

LaForge nodded glumly. "You can't pull rank on a civilian."

"They did, however, agree to abide by ship regulations in addition to Federation law when they applied to the expedition," Data noted.

"Which would be fine except that the wife of one of the exobiologists on the Pasteur just happens to be a legal scholar," LaForge grimaced. "A Benzite lawyer at that."

Data cocked his head to one side. "As Mrs. Picard might say in this instance, 'it sucks to be you.'"

LaForge burst out laughing. "There are days, Data. I would never trade this job for my old one, but there are days when it does suck to be me."

Data gestured toward an archway that led out of the market. "I must transport back to the Enterprise. I have Bridge duty in ten minutes."

Following Data through the archway, LaForge sighed. "Same here. Listen, we should make a point to get together on a regular basis-maybe a weekly breakfast or something."

"I would like that," Data agreed.

"Why don't we invite Madden," LaForge suggested. "Make it a First Officer's club, kind of like the captains' weekly briefings."

"Certainly," Data said as he reached for his communicator. "Data to Enterprise, one to beam up."

...

Bashir was perched on a low knee wall that ran alongside a walkway just outside of the Central Marketplace. This was one of a dozen designated transport sites for individuals beaming to or from the ships. It was a beautiful day, the first one that he'd been able to enjoy after spending the past several days with medical experts from this system learning about their bio-medical knowledge and technology as well as teaching them about the Federation's medical technology. Finally the familiar sparkling of a transporter beam appeared.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Ezri Dax began as soon as she materialized. "My last counseling session ran a little long. We're still dealing with the aftermath of that Vaadwaur thing."

Bashir waited for her to pause for a breath and quickly took the opportunity to drop a kiss on her lips. "It's fine, I was enjoying the fresh air and sunshine."

Ezri took a deep breath. "You're right, it's wonderful and I promise that the rest of my day is all yours. No more work."

"One of the Tauri doctors I've been working with told me about a restaurant that we have to try while we're here," Bashir gestured along the walkway in the direction of the nearest entrance to the central marketplace. "It's supposed to have the best of the local delicacies and the only incompatibility with the local cuisine effects Tellarite physiology."

"Gagh doesn't effect Trill physiology but that doesn't mean I want to eat it," Ezri commented wryly, her stomach turning at the thought.

Bashir chuckled. "From what I've experienced over the past couple of days, their cuisine is fairly similar to most humanoid cultures, nothing too outrageous or exotic."

"Tastes like chicken?"

...

Vash took a break, stretching muscles that were stiff after spending the past several hours engrossed in removing dirt and debris from a skeleton. It took painstaking effort to fully expose it without damaging the bones or the artifacts on the body, but this type of fieldwork was something she enjoyed. Nearby she saw her assistant Karita gingerly removing an ancient weapon that looked like a cross between a bat'leth and a Terran broadsword. Her ever-present security guard, Kennely, was recording their work on a holorecorder for reference purposes; she knew better than to tie him up with any actual digging. When the Tauri extended an invitation for her to join an expedition of Tauri archaeologists on an excavation, she had jumped at the opportunity. They were on a smaller continent south of the mainland and the site itself was right along the northern tip of the island; in fact, from a slightly higher vantage point, she could see the beautiful, teal-colored ocean that separated the two continents. She took a drink of water and noticed someone coming toward her. "Na'liat, I'm glad you're here. I wanted to ask you about something. I haven't seen any indication of recent seismic activity or any other significant geological events in the area."

The Tauri chief archaeologist knelt down beside the hole that Vash was working in to see what she had uncovered. "There has been no significant seismic activity on Tauri in many generations. Why is that important?"

"I was just wondering why this continent had never been excavated before now," Vash commented. "There are no signs of habitation aside from small to medium-sized wildlife and transportation to this continent couldn't have been a problem considering your people's level of technology. I don't mean to pry-"

Kennely snorted softly and whispered to Karita. "Since when?"

"You don't have to answer if it's inappropriate for me to ask," Vash heard his snicker and chose to ignore it, more interested in the work in front of her for the moment.

Na'liat waved her hands in a calming motion. "Not at all, Professor, we are scientists not diplomats. Knowledge cannot be attained without asking the necessary questions. This island is one of the forbidden places. For most of our history, our people were banned from any of the designated forbidden places. It is only in my lifetime that our government began allowing scientists access to these sites. I was a child when the government announced that it would be lifting the ban, opening the forbidden places to study. That was the reason I studied archaeology, I was fascinated by these mysterious places and my dream was to one day be a part of unraveling the secrets they held. I'm sure that sounds quite silly to you."

"Not at all," Vash exchanged an understanding smile with her Tauri counterpart. "We share the same fascination."

"This island is the last forbidden place on our planet to be studied," Na'liat said. "I cannot describe for you the joy I felt at being given the opportunity to head up the excavation of the island."

Vash nodded knowingly. "The pinnacle of your career."

"Precisely."

"Have you been able to discover why these particular locations were placed off-limits to begin with?" Vash asked.

Na'liat shrugged. "There are many myths and stories told of that time in our distant past."

"Most myths have a basis in fact," Vash noted. She carefully picked up a fist-sized rock and set it on the ground out of the hole where she was working on the skeleton.

"That is the hope of these excavations," Na'liat replied. "That we will be able to separate factual history from hyperbolic re-tellings that now bear little resemblance to truth."

With the skeleton completely exposed, Vash pulled out her tricorder and began scanning the skeletal remains. "Oral histories are fascinating but not necessarily the most reliable. People do seem to embellish their stories a bit more each time they tell them."

"Well," Na'liat said, "tradition says that this island was Dantenferni, the home of the Theoenas, and the site of Chambala."

Vash scowled at her tricorder and adjusted the setting. "Chambala?"

"The final battle in which the Theoenas were defeated and eradicated from our world, opening the way for freedom and enlightenment for all Tauri."

"So the Theoenas were bad," Vash concluded.

Na'liat sat down on the edge of the hole where Vash was working. "If the stories are to be believed, the Theoenas were creatures spawned of pure evil. Have you noticed that some of the workers are wearing iron collars?"

Vash nodded.

"According to legend, Theoenas feed on evil thoughts and the base of the skull was believed to be where such thoughts originated. The Theoenas are attracted to the darkness in a person and burrow into the back of their neck to feed on it. The iron collars are intended to prevent any Theoenas still around from possessing them. Obviously those wearing them are still a bit more superstitious about these forbidden places; professional curiosity is all well and good until it comes back to bite you in the neck as they say."

"They may not be too far off," Vash said. She carefully stepped across the remains to stand beside the Tauri archaeologist. Holding her tricorder up to show Na'liat the readings, she explained. "My scan of this skeleton found two distinct genetic profiles. The skeleton itself is a distant ancestor to the Tauri, but I'm also reading some fossilized remains with a distinctly different signature localized to the base of the skull."

...

Laughing about some of the more interesting foods that Dax had experienced over her various lifetimes, mostly through Curzon's more adventurous nature, Julian and Ezri reached the large archway that separated the Central Marketplace from the rest of the city. Bashir was already pointing toward a nearby stand that featured hand-woven rugs in intricate designs when an alarm abruptly sounded. Everyone turned to look at them, their eyes moving from the archway to Bashir and Dax standing just beneath it. With expressions of uncertainty and hesitation, Tauri security officers closed in around them with their weapons drawn.

"Whoa," Bashir said, holding his hands out. "We're guests of your government, members of the Delta Expedition in orbit of this planet. I'm Doctor Julian Bashir and this is my wife, Lieutenant Ezri Dax; you can verify our identities through the office of Premier Je'nau."

One of the security officers stepped toward them, gesturing for two officers to grab Bashir and two to grab Dax. "Take him through the sensor again," he ordered his men.

Bashir tried to struggle but in the end he was dragged back through the archway. "What is your problem?"

When nothing happened, the leader of the security team motioned for Dax to be taken back through the archway. The alarm that had gone off previously resumed its blaring. "It's her," he announced.

Immediately, the two security officers holding Ezri began to rapidly drag her away. Bashir tried to reach her but was held back by the two officers who had forced him through the archway. "Where are you taking her? What's going on?""

"She has been infested with a parasite," a security officer informed him. "This is one of several detection sensors, part of an ancient system throughout our world, to screen for them."

"Parasite? You mean Dax? It's a symbiont, a part of her," Bashir tried to explain.

"These sensors are meant to warn us of the return of an ancient enemy. Only parasitic life forms are detected by the system and are to be summarily executed when discovered. That is the law."

"You can't kill her," Bashir protested. "She's not your enemy; she's done nothing wrong. We were not told of your law about symbionts. We'll go back to the ship."

The security officer tried to calm him down. "The woman will not be harmed. The creature will be removed prior to execution; that's where they're taking her now."

"That will kill her," Bashir strenuously insisted. "She's a Trill, once she joined with the symbiont they became inextricably linked. Please call your superiors-call Premier Je'nau before you do anything."

"The alarm sounded. Such lifeforms are our enemies and they are to be immediately executed," the security officer repeated to him. "That is our law, I do not have discretionary authority in this situation."

Bashir wrenched his arm free and tapped his communicator. "Bashir to Captain Crusher, I have an emergency down on the planet surface. I need you to beam directly to Ezri's location; the locals are going to kill her."

_..._

By the time Bashir reached the security facility where they had taken Dax, Captain Crusher was already there along with Commander Chakotay. He glanced around the room but Ezri was nowhere to be seen. "Where is she?" he demanded, still a bit breathless from his haste to get there after the security officers finally released him.

Beverly turned and placed herself between Bashir and the Tauri security personnel. "They have her in a holding cell. Chakotay contacted Premier Je'nau who issued an emergency stay until we sort things out. She's fine for now. What happened?"

Bashir shrugged, shaking his head. "I don't know. We were entering their Central Marketplace and when we walked through this old, stone archway, an alarm went off. They said something about it detecting some ancient parasite enemy. They're going to remove Dax and kill it, which-"

"Will kill Ezri as well," Beverly finished for him. While not as knowledgeable about Trill symbionts as Bashir, she did have some experience.

Relieved that his captain understood the magnitude of the situation, Bashir sighed. On the heels of that relief was the thought that the Dax symbiont really did seem to have a knack for getting into trouble. "Ezri didn't do anything," he stressed to Crusher. "No laws were broken."

The head of the security facility interrupted. "The existence of such parasites is against our law."

A spark of alarm shot through Beverly at those words. She motioned to forestall Bashir's response and reached for her communicator. "Crusher to Enterprise."

After only a brief pause, Data replied. 'Enterprise; yes, Captain?'

"Commander Data, where is Jax Odan?" she asked, getting right to the point. Discovering that Odan's newest host was among the contingent of Trill on the expedition had been disquieting and led to a few days of strain between Chakotay and her. They had dealt with her history with Odan and put it behind them; hopefully Chakotay wouldn't misunderstand her concern for Odan in this situation. Interminable seconds passed before Data replied.

'Doctor Odan is currently located on C-deck in the Bajoran restaurant. Do you require his assistance?'

She released the breath that she'd been holding. "No, Data; I need you to keep him on the ship. Tauri law bans symbiotic lifeforms."

'Understood, Captain. Do you wish me to relay these instructions to your ship for Lieutenant Dax?'

"That won't be necessary. The Tauri have Dax in custody; that's how we found out about their law. Commander Chakotay and I are working on resolving it. Just make sure that Odan stays put."

Marshal Ti'nak and Premier Je'nau arrived just in time to overhear Beverly's conversation with Data. "Symbiotic creatures?" Ti'nak demanded. "How did you avoid the sensor system?"

"They didn't," the head of the security facility stepped forward to give his report. "One of them, a woman, triggered an alarm in the market. We took her into custody immediately but orders from the Premier delayed removal of the creature. The man she was with was not infested."

Bashir held up his hand to display his wedding band, his frustration evident. "The woman is my wife, her name is Ezri. She's a joined Trill, the symbiont is not a parasite and its name is Dax."

Ti'nak ignored him and addressed Chakotay. "How many of these creatures are there among you?"

Aware of the security officers warily reaching for their weapons and muttering, Chakotay tried to de-escalate the situation. "Just two, the Dax symbiont you're holding and one other. He'll remain on our ships. I give you my word that he will not come down to the planet."

One of the security officers turned to the man standing next to him, re-directing his weapon as he spoke, his tone accusatory. "You were on that ship yesterday, Lo'ril."

Lo'ril turned his back on the security officer, lowering his head to expose the back of his neck as he held his hands out away from his own weapon, which was still in its holster. "Nothing happened, I told you all about it."

"Maybe."

One of the security officers began handing out metal bands that all of them except Lo'ril fastened around their throats. Ti'nak took two of the bands and thrust one at Je'nau, scowling until the Premier put it on. "There's a sensor two skuts over. If nothing happened, it won't do any harm to walk through it."

Lo'ril immediately headed for the door. "Yes, sir."

"Without your weapon," Ti'nak said. At his gesture, one of the security officers stopped Lo'ril and took his weapon from its holster. "You'll get it back when you've been cleared."

Two of the officers escorted Lo'ril out of the room as Ti'nak turned to Je'nau. "I recommend every individual who has been on any of their ships be scanned. I can order any of my security personnel to submit to scans, but the civilians-"

"There is no need," Chakotay assured them. "The Trill are a peaceful race and the symbionts only join with willing hosts from among their own population."

Bashir offered more information. "They can't join with any other race but their own; even then, only a portion of their population is compatible enough for joining. There's information on their race in the medical database I provided your scientists with. They're not a threat to anyone."

Beverly looked from Ti'nak to Je'nau and straightened herself to her full height. The Tauri still had one of her crew members in custody. "Your security people are holding my Lieutenant and it's my understanding that they were planning to remove the Dax symbiont."

"We have no wish to punish the innocent," Je'nau confirmed, "but the creature must be destroyed."

Without even looking at him, Beverly motioned for Bashir to remain silent. "If you'll examine the information that Doctor Bashir provided, you'll see that removing the symbiont from my crew member would kill her. You would be executing a young woman who, by your own admission, is innocent of any crime."

Based on the time he'd spent getting to know the Tauri people and the cultures of other races in the region, Chakotay offered a suggestion. "We have a number of unjoined Trill on our expedition. They're from the same homeworld as Lieutenant Dax. We could make them available so you could learn about them and their culture's relationship with the symbionts."

"You indicated only two of these things among you," Ti'nak said accusingly.

"Symbionts," Beverly acknowledged. "There are only two Trill symbionts on the expedition. There is a group of humanoids from Trill with us but not all Trill are joined with a symbiont."

"Less than ten percent of the entire Trill population are joined," Bashir said.

Keenly aware of the razor's edge that this situation was teetering on, Chakotay held his hands out in an open gesture. He was hopeful that a diplomatic solution could be found and the Tauri's abject fear of symbiotic life wouldn't drive them to a violent response. "We apologize for the symbiont's transgression. We were not aware of your society's aversion to their kind. We will sequester the two symbionts on our ships. If you'll return Lieutenant Dax to us, I promise you that neither of the symbionts will set foot on any planet in your system."

When Je'nau appeared to be considering Chakotay's words, Ti'nak turned on him. "These creatures must not be permitted to exist! We must execute the one we have and demand that they surrender the other one as well. They are an abomination."

"I have not seen you to be an aggressive or bloodthirsty society," Chakotay countered. "You cannot kill the symbionts without also killing two individuals who have done you no harm. The Trill symbionts are a small part of the vast diversity represented in our United Federation of Planets, a diversity that fascinated you up until now."

"Two lives are a small price to pay in order to safeguard the entirety of our population," Ti'nak argued.

"Enough," Je'nau cut them both off. "The Ruling Council must consider this matter. Voluntarily allowing such a creature to live would violate our oldest law. Only a majority vote by the Council can authorize the release of a living symbiotic creature. We will review your information and talk to these unjoined Trill. Until we reach a decision, your Dax will be held in our custody. If this other symbiont leaves your ships, it will also be taken into custody."

Bashir reached for his captain's arm. "How do we know Ezri's all right?"

"Nothing has been nor will be done to her pending the result of our deliberations," Je'nau said. "You may see her to assure yourself."

Ti'nak spoke up. "No contact."

"Agreed," Je'nau said. "Your people may see and speak with her, but there will be no physical contact with her. Just a precaution, you understand?"

Beverly nodded. "Doctor Bashir and I would like to see her now. Commander Chakotay will arrange interviews with Trill expedition members. There's a Trill physician on the Pasteur who could be very helpful in their understanding of the symbiont physiology and the joining process." The last comment was directed to Chakotay.

Chakotay acknowledged her suggestion and turned to Je'nau. "We would like to resolve this quickly and in the spirit of the friendship that we've established to this point. I assume you would prefer to conduct interviews of our people here on the surface so that your scanners can verify that they do not possess a symbiont."

"Without question," Ti'nak snapped. "I am cancelling all travel to those ships and I want any of our population currently in your possession to be returned at once."

Je'nau sighed. "Why don't you go see to that."

"You and you," Ti'nak pointed to two security officers. "Stay with the Premier. Allow no one to touch him."

Preparing to follow a security officer to where Dax was being held, Beverly had one last instruction. "Chakotay, let Jean-Luc and Will know what's going on."

_..._

The emergency session called by the Tauri Ruling Council had stretched late into the evening. Standing alone in the turbolift, Picard estimated that it was around twenty-two hundred hours. After long hours negotiating with individuals who had been frightened almost to the point of hysteria, his diplomatic responsibilities on this expedition felt like a noose. When the lift doors opened, he headed toward his quarters, unfastening his uniform jacket as he went. The second he was inside his quarters, he shrugged off the jacket and tossed it onto the couch before sinking into the living area's large easy chair. With a groan, he swung his boots up onto the ottoman. A shot of Aldebaran whiskey sounded really good but the cabinet that held his private stash was all the way across the room and that was just too far away at the moment.

"Hey there, Fleetboy."

Picard turned his head in the direction of the dulcet voice and saw Vash poised in the doorway of their bedroom. With her hair perfectly coifed to frame her delicate features, she was dressed to enchant. The soft velvet of her midnight blue dress clung to every line and curve of her silhouette down to her slim waist before flaring into a full skirt that fell with fluid elegance to about mid calf. Matching high-heeled pumps accentuated her slender ankles and shapely legs. She made her way over to the cabinet, the skirt swirling around her legs with each step. She took out the crystal decanter containing the Aldebaran whiskey and filled one of the matching tumblers. Watching Vash cross the room toward him, he smiled. "Hello, beautiful."

"Hard day at the office?" She handed him the glass of whiskey, gracefully seating herself on the arm of his chair.

"That would be something of an understatement." He gestured with his glass. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She gently stroked her fingers through the grey hair at his temple. "How's Ezri doing?"

Picard knew that Vash had begun a friendship with Ezri after the Vaadwaur attack. He placed his free hand on her knee and assured her, "For the time being, she is quite safe and holding up just fine. Having nearly four hundred years including eight previous lifetimes to draw strength from is serving the young woman well at the moment. Apparently this is not exactly a new situation for the Dax symbiont to find itself in. I find I'm more concerned for Dr. Bashir."

"Julian?"

"This is the man's wife we're talking about. I can very easily imagine how he must feel right now." His hand tightened protectively on her knee.

"Jean-Luc, it's not me." Seeing the look he gave her, she gave a slight tilt of her head and chirped, "This time."

"This time," he echoed with a weary sigh before taking a long drink of his whiskey. "The Tauri leadership at least seem to be keeping an open mind. They just have this almost instinctive hatred of symbiotic lifeforms and, in my experience, that sort of ingrained bias is hard to get past."

"I actually think I may be able to shed some light on the origin of that reaction," she offered. "Remember that archaeology dig they invited me to join?"

Picard ran a hand over his head wearily. "Before they arrested one of our people and threatened to execute her? Yes, I do recall that."

Vash went over to retrieve a PADD from the desk. "I've been working on my final report for it. The Tauri were excavating an island that was supposedly the site of a mythological battle. The stories of the war and final battle bear strong similarities to the Terran legends of Ragnarok or Armageddon. Chambala, as they call it, was the final battle between the ancient Tauri and the Theoenas."

"Theoenas?" It was not a name he had heard. The Tauri Ruling Council had made repeated references to an ancient enemy amid the references to parasites and symbiotic life but he did not recall hearing any specific names for this enemy.

"According to the legends that Chakotay dug up for me and what the archaeologists I was working with told me," she prefaced her explanation. "They were these creatures who possessed people by burrowing into the back of their skull. They're considered mythological beings among the general Tauri population, but here's the amazing thing-I actually found a skeleton on the site and when I scanned it with my tricorder, I detected a second genetic profile."

"A possible basis of the myth," he surmised.

She skimmed through her notes on the PADD until she found the critical information and handed it to him. "It appeared to be some sort of parasitic or symbiotic creature melded with the skull of the skeletal remains. We also found what appeared to be large, bipedal animals with the same fossilized remains at the base of their skulls and a pit of fossilized remains with that same genetic profile-likely a mass grave of just the parasite-symbionts. Now, Jean-Luc, something has been nagging at me about this all day, a sort of déjà vu' feeling. I'm not really sure . . ."

Her hesitant tone of voice drew his attention away from the information on the PADD. "Would it help to run whatever thoughts you have on this past me?"

Vash sighed, tilting her head. "Okay, I've got some of the experts from the Pasteur analyzing the DNA for me, but between the stories that Na'liat told me about the Theoenas and my findings, it kind of reminded me of those Goa'uld creatures we encountered during our little alternate universe experience on Tama."

"You think we could be dealing with the repercussions from this universe's Goa'uld?"

"I'm not sure," she admitted sitting back down on the arm of his chair. "The only real similarity I can determine, aside from both being considered evil demon spawn, is the fact that they enter their host at the base of the neck and completely control their actions. I didn't want to bother Beverly for the information on that specific element that those symbionts had, the naquadah, although Chakotay would probably be able to get his hands on that information for me. I just put my finger on that niggling memory a little while ago. We had originally thought that the Trill were our universe's version of those Goa'uld; but if Dr. Jackson and I are right about Lemuria being where our respective universes diverged, then these might be the creatures that our mythology refers to as the Lhas. Of course, we don't really know what these Theoenas actually called themselves. I mean written history in practically every culture is riddled with references to races that aren't really accurate. Terran history alone has many such examples. Aside from the Lhas, there's the Anasazi who we'll never know what they truly called themselves. The Apache peoples never even liked the term Apache, they referred to themselves as the N'de, Tinde', Dine' or Inde but how many history references even acknowledge that? Archaeologists and historians just pluck these terms out of thin air, dress them up in six million credit terminology and everyone and their cousin cites it as fact."

The last bit of his wife's scholarly rant had been lost on Picard who had become increasingly concerned as he read through her notes from the excavation. He had his own foreboding sense of déjà vu'. A memory flashed through his mind of the gruesome death of Lieutenant Commander Dexter Remmick and the destruction of the neural parasite mother creature that had begun an infiltration of Starfleet Command during his first year commanding the Enterprise-D. "You've already sent the DNA to Beverly's people for analysis?"

"Yes." She broke off her tirade about inaccurate nomenclature mid-sentence when she noticed his expression darken. "Jean-Luc, what is it?"

"I'll need to see the Pasteur's analysis of the DNA to be sure," he muttered, still studying the PADD.

"You know what these things are, don't you?"

Once again lifting his glass, he swirled the whiskey using the moment to decide how to best answer her. He threw back his drink, finishing it in one swallow. "It's . . ."

"Classified," she finished along with him. "So I won't even get to know what my own discovery was."

"If I'm right, I'll make sure to declassify and provide information on a need to know basis. And don't roll those pretty blue eyes at me, little girl. You know how this works." He sat his empty glass and the PADD on a side table.

"Oh, I know exactly how the game is played," she retorted from her perch.

"Your discovery does explain the Tauri's abhorrence of symbiotic lifeforms. Well done, Professor." He used his best Dixon Hill voice, "you're one smart dame."

She swung her legs across his lap. "And here I thought it was my great gams."

The shapely length of leg proved too much of an irresistible lure and he slid a hand from her ankle up the curve of her calf to the back of her knee. "You do have great gams."

"So, why don't you tell the smart dame with the great gams what's got you wound tighter than a new girdle?"

"Like you've ever even worn one, slim?" He teased, gesturing to her slender waist. Her patiently- expectant expression told him that she was not going to be sidetracked by a bit of banter. He reached up to rub the bridge of his nose. "I'm a Starship captain on a deep space mission of exploration, but it seems like most of my time is spent in negotiations of one kind or another. Instead of an explorer I feel more like . . ."

"A military governor," she supplied gently.

"Precisely."

"Going from crisis to crisis, you've been quite busy helping Beverly and Will adjust to their roles as new captains. Have you taken any time to consider some of the more unusual aspects of your own new command?" She stood up and moved behind his chair.

He allowed his head to fall forward and closed his eyes as her talented hands began to skillfully work the tense muscles of his neck and shoulders. "I knew taking this command meant more than just captaining a single starship, that in fact I would be the fleet captain overseeing two other commands and heading up a not-so-small community. This ship has more in common with a space station than it does most starships; however, the very real chance to live up to the Enterprise's dedication plaque and to boldly go where no one had gone before was too enticing to pass up."

Expertly using the heel of her hand to apply pressure to a knot directly between his shoulder blades, she heard his soft groan as the knot dissipated. "Do you regret taking this command?"

"No, absolutely not. Even these earliest discoveries have been extraordinary. I'm just going to have to determine a way to slip out of the bureaucratic noose occasionally." With the tense muscles starting to relax, he was struck by an idea. He reached for the control panel on the table next to him inputting several commands. The lights lowered until starlight was providing most of the illumination in the room and a slow, seductive jazz piece quietly began to play. Standing up, he took Vash's hand in his, guiding her around the chair toward him and relishing the precious gift of simply being able to take his wife in his arms for a dance.

With one of her hands in his and her other on his shoulder, she moved in unison with him, leisurely swaying to the fluid rhythm of the music. "Once the current crisis has passed, stretching your legs and blowing off a little steam sounds like the perfect mission for the Kirk. With ultra-aerodynamic contours and retractable nacelles, that hot rod . . . I mean Delta Flyer shuttle of yours seems custom built for the occasional drag race through neighboring systems."

"All of the expedition's shuttles are Delta Flyers," he reminded her.

"And, of course, your personal shuttle hasn't been tweaked just the tiniest little bit."

There had been a few upgrades made to his personal shuttle, the James Kirk, he didn't even need to acknowledge that since Vash knew full well that it had, in fact, been 'tweaked.' His hand spanned the small of her back, the lush velvet of her dress soft beneath his fingertips as they continued to be carried along by the music. "If I took the Kirk out simply for a joyride, Commander Data and Commander Lar would have more than a few things to say about my safety and Riker's voice would drown them both out."

"I'll go with you. You can tell them that you're giving me flying lessons." She traced lazy circles around the rank pips on the collar of his burgundy uniform tunic. "Everyone knows you're a complete mother hen when it comes to my safety. If I'm with you, they'll assume that you won't do anything that would put me at even the slightest risk."

"And correctly so."

"Making me your perfect 'get out of jail free' card." She melted against the solid anchor of his masculine form, the warmth of his embrace seeping through the dress with his strong arms around her. Brushing feathery kisses along his jawline, she murmured between the teasing nips, "So, Johnny, you up to teaching a girl how to use a stick?"

His only response to her challenge was a small wolfish smile before capturing her mouth with his in a deeply impassioned kiss. He slowly slid his hand from the small of her back to cup her shapely derriere while his tongue slipped past her parted lips to gently stroke and caress every corner of her mouth. Languid waves of pleasure washed over him from the way her body sinuously moved with him, perfectly molding to him at every point from the roundness of her breasts against his chest to the intertwining of their legs.

The very masculine combination of his clean-scented aftershave and the slight taste of whiskey in his kiss had given rise to butterflies in Vash's stomach. Breaking the kiss, she set about the task of relieving him of his uniform tunic. "I'll take that as a yes."

"I must be out of my mind," he muttered stripping his t-shirt off over his head.

Her hands traveled from his shoulders to linger on the bulging biceps of his upper arms. The mere thought of the tightly-leashed strength contained in those arms caused the fluttering in her stomach to harden into a knot of desire. With his lean, hard body stripped to the waist, he was overpoweringly male. She slowly trailed a fingertip down through the coarse hair on the muscular wall of his chest past the tapering lines of his torso to the waistband of his trousers, gratified by the way the taut muscles contracted beneath her touch. "My raison d'être - to slowly drive you out of your mind."

"That certainly explains a great deal," his voice was huskier than it had been just moments earlier.

...

Deanna scanned the Forward Lounge. It was the middle of the afternoon and C-deck was unusually quiet. The Tauri had suspended all transport of their people to the expedition ships, but the expedition personnel milling around were also somewhat subdued. This far away from the Federation and Starfleet, every little incident seemed to be magnified in importance. Word of Dax's detention on the planet and the reason for it had spread quickly through the expedition's population. People were starting to adjust to the life they had signed on for, the abstract idea of this expedition that they'd started with was slowly transitioning to the reality of life in the Delta Quadrant. She spotted the man she was looking for, he was sitting by the window staring off into space. Getting a cup of hot cocoa from the bartender, she walked over to his table. "May I join you?"

Jax Odan turned his attention away from his contemplation of the stars and respectfully stood. "Counselor, of course."

"I hope you don't mind," she began once they were both seated. "I just wanted to see how you were doing. This must be difficult for you."

"Not as difficult as it is for Dax," he noted somberly. "I'm fine, thank you for asking; although, I suppose this is an official visit-ship's counselor responsibility."

Deanna took a sip of her cocoa as she sifted through the emotions that Odan was experiencing. "An official session usually takes place in my office. I would consider this just a friendly visit. I know we're not friends, Dr. Odan, but I did know one of your previous hosts. I'm sure you understand how complicated it can be for those of us who aren't Trill, feeling a sense of familiarity with one part of you even though you're technically a stranger. The Odan I knew meant a great deal to a dear friend of mine and I just felt like . . . "

"Being a friend," Jax finished her thought. "I do appreciate the gesture and the sentiment behind it, Counselor. Everyone, myself included, is concerned for Dax. It's nice to know that there are also people here thinking about me as well."

Shifting to a more relaxed position, she asked casually. "Did you know Dax before the expedition?"

"Only by reputation," Odan said. "We've never crossed paths in any of our previous hosts. Symbionts are like anyone else; while it's nice to have another being who understands the nuances of our existence, that doesn't automatically bond us together in a substantial way."

"A shared history doesn't necessarily create strong emotional ties," she acknowledged.

"I'm as concerned for Dax as I would be any unjoined Trill," he said. "The fact that our shared symbiotic nature is what those people are so afraid of is disturbing. I suppose I do feel a sense of guilt that Dax happened to be the first of us to set foot on the planet instead of me." Sighing, he shook his head. "I thought getting the representatives from the two moons of Peliar Zel to see past Riker's body was a challenge, but their reaction was downright enlightened by comparison to the Tauri. I've been trying to understand their fear, but I'm an astrophysicist. I'd rather just put space and stars between that fear and myself."

Deanna smiled gently. "I think you understand better than most. For you to see their reaction as fear rather than hatred, that sounds like the Odan I knew."

Jax smiled back. "He keeps trying to put me in their shoes, a negotiating technique he has used many times in diplomatic situations. I just can't imagine what symbionts could have done in their past to cause this type of reaction."

"The Anthropology department has collected a great deal of information on their history," she offered.

Nodding, Jax finished his drink. "I already have the computer compiling all references to symbionts and parasites in their history, literature and laws. I was planning on reading through it tonight-not that it matters if I understand or not; I'm just a bystander in this."

She could feel conflicting emotions from him. "That frustrates you. You have lifetimes of experience as a diplomat, you feel a sense of survivor guilt that it's not you down there, and yet you don't really want to be involved in a diplomatic capacity."

He shrugged. "Such is the nature of life as a joined Trill; the trick is in finding balance. Learning about the Tauri people will satisfy the part of me that is Odan and those previous hosts who were diplomats and ambassadors. If I see something in that information that might be helpful, I will convey that to Commander Chakotay. Meanwhile, I get to stay in my lab in Astrometrics, which is precisely where I want to be."

"If you want to talk," she said as he got up to leave. "As your friend or your counselor, please call."

"Thank you, Counselor, I will."

...

Picard and Riker were in Picard's ready room on the Enterprise. Their conversation was subdued, the tension of the situation with Dax weighing heavily on everyone. Word had spread just as quickly on the planet about the presence of a symbiont and there had been growing unrest among the general population. The Enterprise and Pasteur had been on yellow alert since Dax's detention, but Riker had placed the Titan on red alert. He had also assigned one of his people to stand guard over Dax to ensure that nothing happened to her without their knowledge. Unlike the standard crew compliment on the Enterprise and Pasteur, Riker's crew on the Titan was the most elite, highly-trained military force conceivable. Every single individual serving on the Titan had completed Advanced Tactical training prior to the launch. They were responsible for the safety of the expedition and its people against any external threat and, as a crew, they were prepared to face anything. In the event of a problem on the planet, Riker wanted someone with Dax who could handle themselves. A transporter lock was being maintained as an additional precaution, but simply beaming her out was a last resort. There was no safe haven to run to here in the Delta Quadrant so provoking hostilities was not something done lightly.

"There have been a few incidents between Tauri security forces and our people," Riker told Picard. "A shuttle returning from a visit to a neighboring system was stopped and boarded. Once they confirmed that there were no symbionts onboard, the shuttle was released. Some of our people on the surface were dragged a bit roughly through their sensor devices, but so far the incidents have resolved quietly once the absence of a symbiont is determined."

Picard checked his computer screen. "Most of the expedition personnel have already returned to the ship, at least Enterprise personnel. I'm sure Beverly will have that information regarding her people when she arrives." As if on cue, the door to his ready room chimed. "Come."

Commander LaForge entered the room, acknowledging both men. "Captain Picard, Captain Riker; Captain Crusher asked me to fill in for her. I'm sorry I'm late but Randall's group finally reported in. They'd gone spelunking in some caves on the nature preserve and it took a while for the ensign minding the shuttle to reach them. They're all accounted for and on their way back."

"Very good, Mr. LaForge," Picard said. "Have a seat. Where is Captain Crusher?"

"Commander Chakotay called, the Tauri requested their presence before the Ruling Council."

Riker stiffened, the urge to jump into action almost instinctive. "Have they made their decision?"

"Commander Chakotay didn't know, only that they requested a meeting with Captain Crusher and himself," LaForge answered. "Per the captain, I spoke with Data and Lar on my way in and they're monitoring Dax closely just in case. She said she'd call as soon as she knew anything."

Picard started to reach for his communicator and paused, his hand hovering over his chest. "We're already at yellow alert. I'd hate to jump the gun by going to red if it turns out to be just more questions from the Ruling Council."

"They've already been through our information on the Trill and talked to every unjoined Trill on the expedition manifest," Riker pointed out. "Not to mention the four hours they spent with me going over my experience with the Odan symbiont. I don't know what more they could possibly need to make their decision."

LaForge spoke up. "Commander Lar opened a communication channel to Commander Madden on the Titan as I was coming in here. Commander Chakotay didn't seem too concerned when he called, mostly unsure of what they wanted."

"He's put a lot of time and effort in on this," Riker noted.

"Indeed," Picard said. "Having Chakotay along on this expedition has already proven valuable more than once. He was an excellent choice to head up the Anthropological Sciences department."

"If you do say so yourself," Riker bantered lightly.

Picard chuckled briefly before getting down to business. He passed PADDs to both men. "While we wait, I have copies of Vash's report from the dig she went on with the Tauri archaeologists. There was an interesting bit of information that came out of her work. Apparently the island that was being excavated was the site of an ancient battle. Symbiont-like creatures apparently took over the bodies of first large animals and later humanoids. They dominated this system, enslaving the early Tauri until they overthrew the symbionts. The site Vash and her people were on was thought to be the final battle."

"That explains what the captain and Chakotay learned during meetings with the Tauri," LaForge said. "Symbiotic creatures are almost like a boogeyman in Tauri culture. None of them can even remember the ancient alarms ever sounding. Some Tauri don't even believe in them; although, according to Chakotay's research, intelligent, parasitic beings show up in the mythology of every race in this sector of space."

Picard grunted. "I have received messages supporting the Tauri's intent to execute Dax from every ambassador in their Ambassadorial Division. It seems everyone in this sector is afraid of symbionts whether they believe in them or not."

"It does make you re-think the Trill's decision to not tell any outsiders about the symbionts until the incident with Odan forced the issue," Riker commented. "At least the Federation didn't consider exterminating their kind."

"The Federation didn't fight any wars with the Trill symbionts," Picard said. "When Vash was telling me about what they found on the dig, she compared these symbionts to beings we encountered when we were pulled into that alternate universe along with Captain Crusher and Commander Chakotay during a visit to Tama a while back. From what we learned about those symbionts there-the Goa'uld, as they were called, seemed to be a lot like those alien parasites that infiltrated Starfleet Command years ago."

Riker subconsciously reached up to rub the back of his neck. "Remmick."

"A signal was sent before we killed the main creature," Picard reminded them. "I pulled up the log and we're on the approximate heading of that signal. I had Doctor Pulaski review the medical scans that Beverly ran on Admiral Quinn at the time. She compared them to the skeletal remains discovered on the Tauri battlefield."

LaForge was already reviewing the two sets of images as Picard was speaking. "The genetics match."

"Which explains the fear and paranoia surrounding any type of symbiont," Picard said.

Riker was already considering the ramifications of this information to their expedition. "They may have left this region generations ago, but our encounter with them proves that they're still out here somewhere. Sooner or later, we'll have to deal with them. I'll have some security protocol recommendations for review by next week's briefing."

Data's voice sounded over the comm. 'Captain Picard, we are receiving an incoming communication from Captain Crusher.'

"In my ready room," Picard ordered. Straightening up in his chair, he tugged at his uniform jacket.

Beverly wasted no time on preamble. 'We have Dax. The Ruling Council voted by a slim majority to return her to us on the condition that we set course out of their space. We've already transported back to the Pasteur.'

The sense of relief was almost anticlimactic after the recent tension. Picard shared a small grin with the other two men. "That's good news, Beverly. We'll set course as soon as everyone is accounted for and please convey my regards to Lieutenant Dax. Tell Commander Chakotay that I'd like to see his final report as soon as possible. Picard out."

LaForge stood, nodding to first Picard and then Riker. "I should get back to the Pasteur. With your permission, Captains?"

"Of course, Mr. LaForge," Picard said. "Dismissed."

Riker stopped him. "Geordi."

"Yes, Captain Riker?"

"Being a First Officer suits you," Riker commented with a smile.

Picard concurred. "We miss you around here but Captain Crusher has been quite complimentary of your performance. Mr. Barclay may not fill your shoes, but he's been surprisingly effective as my Chief Engineer."

"Thank you, sirs."

...

"Is there a problem, Number One?"

Onboard the Titan, Commander Madden re-directed his attention away from the bridge workstation and toward Captain Riker. "Not exactly, sir."

"That's not a very reassuring answer, Commander."

"Sorry, sir," Madden replied. "It's just that I've just been watching sensors closely for any sign of pursuit since we left Tauri space."

Riker nodded approvingly, his First Officer had excellent military instincts. "Sensible considering their feelings toward symbionts."

"The escort ships that followed us from Tauri stopped at the edge of their space and are patrolling along that border. Their weapons systems are active, however there's no indication that they're planning to pursue us."

Riker had spent enough time as a first officer to know there was something bothering Madden that he wasn't sure was worth bringing to his captain's attention. "But?" he prompted.

"I noticed some unusual readings coming from an asteroid field ahead. It's more like interference than any sort of signal. I just haven't been able to figure it out."

"And it's making you nervous," Riker said.

Madden sighed heavily. "Maybe I'm being paranoid, I just don't like passing so close to that field without knowing exactly what's there."

Riker got up from his command chair and walked over to take a look at the display. "Did you run a diagnostic on our sensor system? It could be-"

"No, sir," Madden interrupted him. "I've confirmed with the Pasteur and Enterprise, they're picking up the same reading on their sensors."

Stroking his beard, Riker studied the readings more intently. "If it's a sensor glitch, it wouldn't affect all three ships."

"Astrometrics personnel on the Enterprise are analyzing it," Madden said. "There's no apparent power or weapons signatures, just an anomalous reading isolated to one particular area inside that asteroid field."

Riker couldn't resist. "Maddening is it, Madden?"

Shaking his head with an amused sigh, the First Officer simply said, "Yes, sir."

"Keep me informed and check with Enterprise, see if they want to drop out of warp for a closer look," Riker ordered.

...

From his command chair, Picard watched the stars blur back to normal view as the Enterprise dropped out of warp. He activated the communications system from the control panel in the arm of his seat. "Bridge to Astrometrics."

'Astrometrics here, sir.'

"Any progress on analyzing that sensor reading?"

The voice of the officer who had initially responded to his call was replaced by another voice. 'Dr. Odan here, Captain Picard. We're all still working on it down here but we're fairly certain that it's not a naturally occurring phenomenon. These readings are like nothing I've ever encountered and nobody else down here has seen anything like it either."

The turbolift door slid open and Chakotay stepped onto the Bridge, nodding to Picard.

'If it's an artificial signal,' Odan continued. 'We haven't been able to determine its purpose.'

"Could it be a lifeform?" Chakotay asked. "Voyager encountered a few space-dwelling creatures out here."

Odan heard his comment over the comm system and acknowledged that possibility. 'The amplitude of the signal did suggest the possibility of a bio-electrical component. In fact the readings reminded me of that cosmic cloud organism encountered by the original Enterprise under Captain Kirk in 2269. As I recall, they persuaded it to return to its place of origin, which they unfortunately did not determine before parting ways. That creature utilized koinoenergy as well as highly-charged gaseous antimatter, neither of which is showing up on any scans of the area. I have been in contact with a colleague on the Pasteur. We've been collaborating on a research project regarding space-borne organisms and I thought he'd be able to better determine if it was organic in origin.'

"Hold on a moment, Doctor Odan." Picard gestured to Data. "Let's get the Pasteur and Titan in on this. Commander Chakotay, thoughts?"

The first thought Chakotay had was the telepathic pitcher plant that had nearly destroyed Voyager. "Have you scanned for neurogenic fields in the area?"

'Titan here,' Riker's voice broke into the discussion. 'Considering the number of times that neurogenic fields created situations on Voyager, we maintain a continuous scan for neurogenic frequencies as a security measure. None have been detected.'

Odan spoke up. 'No dark matter nebulae have been detected in this system which further eliminated the Komar from consideration.'

Crusher chimed in from the Pasteur. 'My people can't say for certain that it's not an organism, but they have been able to rule out the Komar as well as the nucleogenic cloud being that Voyager encountered out here.

'Agreed,' Odan concurred. 'No hydroxyl radicals are present in the readings.'

"Could it be Tauri?" Chakotay suggested.

"Explain, Commander," Picard said.

Chakotay shrugged. "An automated outpost of some kind dating back to their war with the symbionts, maybe?"

Picard considered that possibility. It wouldn't be the first time that they had encountered long-forgotten technology that still possessed lethal capabilities. "Prepare a probe," he ordered. "Let's take a closer look from a safe distance."

Behind Riker's voice on the communication channel, a status siren could be heard. 'We're going to yellow alert, I recommend you both do the same if we're going to be poking this thing with a stick.'

'On that note,' Crusher said. 'I'm pulling the Pasteur back a few thousand kilometers. If it is Tauri, the proximity of a symbiont might trigger a reaction. For all we know, the presence of Dax and Odan are the cause of this anomalous sensor reading. Captain Picard, do you want to transfer Odan over here as a precaution while you take a closer look?'

Before Picard could respond, all three ships went to red alert. The source of the sensor readings became evident as six small vessels broke formation and darted out of the asteroid field at high speed.

"Shields up," Lar announced from Tactical a millisecond before the order was issued. "Phasers and photon torpedoes standing by."

The officer at Ops nodded in response to Data's silent command and keyed the panel in front of him. "No response to hails."

On the Titan, Riker didn't waste any time. "Battle stations, prepare for separation. Madden, take the beta section and defend the Enterprise. I'll take the alpha section and defend the Pasteur."

The Titan and her crew's sole responsibility on the expedition was military support. To that end, in addition to the advanced tactical training required for the crew, the ship itself had been designed purely for fighting with a particularly unique feature: it could separate into two warp-capable battle ships in situations such as this. The saucer section was designated as the Titan-alpha and, while less maneuverable, carried the heaviest armaments. The Titan-beta was the star drive section, fast and maneuverable and, even though their weapons systems weren't as powerful as the alpha section, they were still more heavily armed than any standard Starfleet vessel.

With six such small vessels attacking them, splitting their firepower seemed to be the best option. Constant training drills in the early months of the expedition had reduced the time needed to prepare for separation to just under four minutes and the clock had started with his order to initiate it. By the time Madden and his bridge crew arrived on the beta bridge, the entire Titan crew would be in place for the separation.

LaForge was fighting the urge to head for Engineering on the Pasteur. It had been years since he'd been on the bridge crew after serving as Chief Engineer for so long. "They're not responding to the Enterprise's hails. Ship configuration and energy signatures are not consistent with Tauri technology or any known race," he informed Crusher.

"We're bein' scanned," Security Chief Randall reported from Tactical, his Texas drawl terse.

"Is the Enterprise still trying to hail them?" Beverly asked.

LaForge checked the sensor display. "Yeah. The Enterprise and Titan are also being scanned. It looks like the Titan is about to separate."

"Standby weapons," Beverly ordered. "This isn't the best way to make new friends but maybe they're just being cautious. Let's see what they do."

"Status," Picard ordered.

"The alien vessels have scanned all three ships," Lar reported.

Data offered further information. "Still no response to our hails. There is no indication that they are making any attempt to communicate with us."

Chakotay had been working at one of the science stations on the bridge. "I'm not getting any clear life sign readings from them. It's just the same sort of bio-electric interference that we picked up before. They might be automated."

"Could they be using a jamming device of some kind?" Picard asked.

Data provided a quick analysis. "The signal does not appear to affect our systems. Automated drones are a possibility. It could also be a function of their shielding technology."

"There's an energy spike coming from all six vessels," Lar reported. "The Titan has separated and the beta section is taking up a position near us."

"Conn, coordinate maneuvering with Titan-beta's conn," Picard said.

"Aye, sir."

The officer had barely acknowledged the order when the ship shuddered under the impact of attacks from the alien vessels.

"They're sliming us," Chakotay reported, confusion tingeing his voice.

"Highly-charged bio-plasmic gel," Ops specified. "It's coating our shields."

Data was rapidly analyzing the unusual attack strategy. "The substance is not interfering with our weapons, but it appears to be draining power from our shields."

"Shields down ten percent," Ops reported.

Lar was grimacing in frustration. "The ships are too small and fast to get a target lock."

"Like trying to fight a swarm of angry bees," Chakotay noted.

"Re-route emergency power to shields," Picard ordered.

"Shield strength still dropping."

Down in Engineering, Barclay was monitoring the status indicators and directing his people to where he needed them. He saw the fluctuations in their shields and the efforts from the bridge to bolster them. Accessing the sensor display, he noted that both sections of the Titan as well as the Pasteur and Enterprise were struggling to fight their attackers with failing shields. The alien ships were too small to have powerful weapons, but the initial assault with the charged plasma seemed to be aimed at bringing down their shields. In a matter of minutes all of them would be completely defenseless against the alien's weapons and it wouldn't matter how minimal those weapons were. "Modulate shield frequencies," he ordered. "Try to shake that goo off."

"No luck," one of his engineers said several seconds later.

Barclay studied the readings, thinking fast. "Engineering to the Bridge."

Picard's voice was calm but brusque over the link. 'Yes, Mr. Barclay.'

"Sir, if we reduce the amplitude of our shields to the lowest bandwidth, it could disengage the plasma from our shields, allowing it to sort of slide off," Barclay suggested.

'At that setting, the shields would be completely ineffectual,' Picard objected. 'We might as well just drop the shields entirely.'

Barclay had already thought of that and he had a plan. The Enterprise-F was the largest vessel that the Federation had ever built, it was practically the size of a small city. In order to get a vessel of that size into warp, she had a trefoil warp design. Three warp engines working in concert gave the Enterprise enough power to easily reach and sustain Warp 8, Warp 9 could be attained if non-essential systems were shut down. One warp engine was enough to provide power for the entire ship, but two warp engines were a minimum necessity to achieve even a limited warp speed. "If we re-route power from the tertiary warp drive through the internal force field emitters, we can erect a Level 10 cadderon field to reinforce hull integrity."

Picard had his doubts. 'If we re-route power from the tertiary warp-'

"It'll take five minutes to re-integrate it with the other two for high warp," Barclay acknowledged. "With non-essential systems offline, we'll still be able to get up to Warp 3 if we need to make a run for it and if this works, we'll have the main shields back to full strength in less than two minutes."

Up on the Bridge, Picard nodded to himself. "Make it so, Mr. Barclay." Closing the communication channel, he looked to Data. "If this works, relay the information to the other ships."

"Cadderon field activated," Lar reported. "Sir, I'm detecting an energy beam coming from one of the alien vessels. It was deflected by the cadderon field but its target coordinates appear to be the Astrometrics lab."

"Doctor Odan," Picard surmised. "Status on our shields."

Chakotay looked up from the status display. "Reg's idea is working. The slime is losing adhesion to the shields. We should have shields back to full strength in fifty seconds."

"Warn the Pasteur," Picard ordered. "They're trying to take the symbionts. Let Riker and Madden know how to shake that stuff loose."

"Alien vessels are breaking off," Lar said. "They're heading deeper into the Delta Quadrant, away from Tauri space."

"The Pasteur suffered a hull breach," Chakotay reported. "It's sealed, but they lost shields during the fight. The Titan-alpha and Titan-beta are purging their shields of the slime now, they took some damage."

Data sent a quick reply to an incoming transmission before providing Picard with the status report. "Captain Riker has just informed us that Lieutenant Dax was transported off the Pasteur during the attack and asked about the status of Doctor Odan. I have informed him that Doctor Odan is secure."

"Track those ships," Picard ordered.

...

The Enterprise had sustained the least amount of damage in the fight, thanks to Barclay. The Titan-beta had sustained damage to their docking clamps in the fight, which prevented them from re-joining with the alpha section. So, even though this was a military situation, they were using the Enterprise's conference room. Picard, Data, Chakotay and Barclay were in the conference room reviewing reports on the attacking vessels and the bio-plasmic gel that the aliens used to bring down the shields. The science department had managed to collect samples of it and were still analyzing it, but they had already submitted their preliminary findings. The transporter room had called a few moments ago to advise them that Captains Riker and Crusher had beamed aboard.

"All right," Beverly asked as she entered the conference room followed by Riker and LaForge. "Which one of you painted the bulls-eye on my ship?"

Picard shrugged casually. "Well it's hardly prudent to put one on your own ship."

"My people are getting a little too good at repairing hull breeches," she shot back good-naturedly.

"Practice makes perfect," Picard pointed out.

Everyone chuckled at the light humor, a brief respite from the situation at hand. As the late arrivals took their seats around the table, Beverly addressed Riker, her tone more serious. "Will, before I forget, Ensign Ver'll and Lieutenant Thomas are both out of surgery and doing fine. According to Doctor Bashir, they should be back to full duty within a week."

Riker nodded. "I'll beam over to visit them as soon as I can."

"I do want to thank you and your crew," she said. "We would have had a lot more than a minor hull breech when our shields failed if you hadn't taken the brunt of the assault. As it was, there were only injuries onboard the Pasteur, mostly minor."

Riker sighed heavily. "I wasn't much help to Dax. I seem to keep losing people out here."

"Have you thought about issuing cowbells?" Chakotay suggested. He knew that Riker took his responsibility for the safety of every individual on the expedition very seriously. Riker was harder on himself and his crew than anyone else would ever be.

Acknowledging the attempt at lightening his mood, Riker got down to business. Even though this was Picard's conference room, he was in command of the current situation. "The coupling clamps on the Titan-beta will be repaired within the hour. What's the status here? How's Odan?"

"Minor damage that has already been repaired and only a few minor injuries thanks to Mr. Barclay. Dr. Odan is secure," Picard said. "Since Mr. Barclay's cadderon field was so effective in blocking their initial attempt at transporting him off during the attack, we're maintaining a cadderon field around his location. He is insisting on remaining in Astrometrics in order to assist in locating where our attackers took Lieutenant Dax."

Data pulled up a display of the system. "While the bio-electrical interference prevented any extensive scans of the vessel's interior or the aliens themselves, we were able to track the vessels-"

"Away from Tauri space," Riker noted.

"Yes, Captain," Data replied. "Their course took them deeper into the Delta Quadrant."

Rubbing his beard, Riker considered his options. "Wherever they took her, it's beyond even the Enterprise's long-range sensors. Without any way of knowing how far they traveled, all three ships are going to have to set a pursuit course. I hate the idea of taking the Pasteur and Enterprise into a battle situation, especially since we didn't fare all that well against them the first time."

"My Chief Medical Officer would have serious objections to being left behind under the circumstances," Beverly said.

"I sympathize with Dr. Bashir," Riker replied, "but that doesn't make it any less risky."

LaForge spoke up. "I may have an idea about that."

Riker held his hand out to Crusher's First Officer, pointing toward him. "Let's hear it, Geordi."

"Actually it was Reg's idea," LaForge acknowledged. "We know the specific settings necessary to prevent their charged plasma from adhering to our shields; unfortunately, at that setting the shields are useless against anything else. The way Reg used the tertiary warp drive to power a force field gave me an idea. If the Pasteur stays in tight to the Enterprise, we can use the Enterprise's tertiary warp drive to create a bubble around both ships. With that bubble modulated to repel the plasma gel, the ship's shields will remain intact and protected."

Barclay reviewed LaForge's idea. "That should work," he agreed. "We'll need to use the main deflector dish as well as the two supplemental deflectors to create a field large enough to enclose both ships, but it's doable and it should work."

"It'll slow us down considerably," Picard offered. "With energy from the tertiary drive diverted to the deflectors, we'll only be able to maintain Warp 3."

"What if the Pasteur creates the bubble?" Beverly asked. "Could we extend our shields around the Enterprise and modulate them to repel the gel."

Picard picked up on her thought. "And the Enterprise can extend her shields around the Pasteur to protect both ships from attack. We'd be able to search for Lieutenant Dax at full speed."

LaForge and Barclay compared notes. Data moved around the table to look over their shoulders and offer his own thoughts. After several moments, LaForge presented their conclusion. "It can be done, but the Pasteur will need to shut down all non-essential systems and maybe two or three decks in order to re-route as much power as possible to the shields if we're going to extend them out that far."

"How long will you need to get this set up?" Riker asked.

"At least a couple of hours on our end," LaForge answered.

Riker looked from Picard to Crusher. They would retrieve Dax, there was no question about going after her. This solution wouldn't protect the Titan from that gel, his people would have to come up with a strategy to deal with that for themselves. The important thing was that their solution would allow the Pasteur and Enterprise to defend themselves, which would leave the Titan free to fight. The final decision was his, but he wanted to make sure neither of them had objections to the proposed plan. "Unless someone has a better idea, we'll set a pursuit course as soon as everything is ready."

...

Beverly reached out to tenderly caress the monitor in front of her. She was in her ready room on the Pasteur talking to Chakotay over ship-to-ship communication. They were following the course that sensors had tracked the alien vessels after Dax had been taken. There had been several more attacks on the expedition by the alien vessels, each time targeting the Enterprise in determined efforts to take Odan. So far their strategy had been successful in protecting both the Pasteur and the Enterprise. The Titan had slowly been adapting their tactics, learning with each new attack and were forcing the aliens to break off their attacks more rapidly each time. They were swarming in larger numbers but the size of their vessels limited their offensive capabilities. Unfortunately the incessant attacks meant that all three ships were in a constant state of red alert so all personnel were confined to their assigned vessels. There were a number of married couples with duty assignments on different ships in the expedition, so Chakotay and she were not unique. That didn't make this enforced separation any easier. "I miss you," she said softly.

"Look at it this way," Chakotay offered with a wink from his office on the Enterprise. "We'll get to experiment a bit more in what all absence makes grow when this is over."

Laughing at his carnal insinuation, she said, "I don't think my heart could get any fonder of you no matter how long we're apart."

"I love you, too, Fireball."

The door to her ready room chimed. "Duty calls," she sighed. "Take care of yourself and yes, I am eating and sleeping on a semi-regular basis. I love you."

At her summons, the door opened to admit LaForge carrying an armload of PADDs. "Is this a bad time, Captain?"

"No, Geordi," she shut off the monitor. "Come on in and have a seat. What's on your mind?"

LaForge set the PADDs on her desk and handed her the top one. "I've been looking over our power consumption and system specifications."

"Geordi," she interrupted. "You're my First Officer, not my Chief Engineer."

"Yes, Captain, but as you yourself noted, this ship has suffered hull breeches in both of the battles that she's been in so far."

Beverly went over to her replicator and got a cup of coffee. Holding it up in an unspoken question, she retrieved a second cup and handed it to LaForge. "Okay, so you've been considering solutions to that issue. What have you come up with?"

"Since I transferred over, I've been trying to review all of the research projects being conducted on the Pasteur. I wanted to familiarize myself with the personnel and their work," he prefaced his proposal. "I found a project that could increase our structural integrity by more than twenty percent. We'd need to do some tweaking, ironically that bio-plasmic gel that the aliens used to weaken our shields could be incorporated to boost those numbers by another six percent. I've been working on this with Irina and we're pretty sure we got the bugs all worked out. The power needs for this are within tolerances, it won't be a strain on our systems."

"Irina?" she echoed. "That would be Commander Irina Chekova, my Chief Engineer?"

The coffee cup froze halfway to his mouth. "Yes, Captain. Commander Chekova is confident that we can implement this idea without compromising our energy utilization, even in a battle situation."

Beverly fought back a smile and the urge to call Vash and Deanna. "If she doesn't object to your calling her Irina, I have no problem with it either, Mr. LaForge. What exactly is this idea."

Knowing that his face was flushed, he concentrated on the proposal. He rifled through the PADDs until he found the one that he was looking for. "Here is the information on a research project that deals with physiological properties of space-dwelling races. Specifically the work on dermal properties is where I got the idea."

"You want to use alien skin to fix hull breeches? I'm sorry, Commander, maybe I just need some sleep but I don't see where you're going here."

"Actually you're not far off," he told her. "If we create a lattice with a synthesized structure based on the dermal properties of some of the more resilient space-dwelling races and lay it over our hull like a second skin, it'll make our own hull more resistant to breeching. The charged bio-plasmic gel weakens our shields by acting like a sponge, absorbing the energy used to maintain the shields. If we infuse the lattice with a synthesized version of that, it could absorb some of the impact of weapons fire."

"Resulting in an increase in structural integrity and reducing our vulnerability to hull breeches," she concluded.

LaForge handed her another PADD. "Iri-Commander Chekova and I have been running simulations and these are the results. Through some trial and error, we've isolated the specific molecular structure and bio-plasma content that would yield a 28% increase in structural integrity. That's the best we've been able to accomplish. Commander Chekova thinks she may even be able to rig up something that would siphon the absorbed energy from the bio-plasma into power cells for an emergency reserve. Replicating the lattice wouldn't be a problem, we could even tap the Enterprise for help there. Actually applying it without access to a drydock is going to be the challenge. It's not impossible, it'll just take some good old-fashioned ingenuity and more encounter suits than we currently have onboard. Again, we can get help on that from the Enterprise."

"This is good work, Mr. LaForge," she told him. "Leave the PADDs and let me look this over. I'll get back to you on it."

"Yes, ma'am; thank you, ma'am."

The red alert klaxon sounded, alerting them to yet another attack. Without a word, both officers set down their coffee cups and headed for the bridge.

...

The bridge of the Titan was silent. Nobody was talking and yet the atmosphere felt as though it were bustling with activity. Riker drummed his fingers on the arm of his command chair, watching the view in front of him. They had finally managed to locate what appeared to be the homeworld of their attackers. The same bio-electric sensor readings that they'd picked up with the attacking ships was concentrated on the planet they were entering orbit around. There was no response to their hails. Some larger ships had attacked them after they'd entered this system, but their weapons systems were not much more powerful than the smaller ships had been. The aliens seemed to rely on bringing shields down and since the expedition ships had developed counter-measures to the bio-plasma gel weapon, the attacks had been ineffectual.

"Enterprise is hailing us," the officer at Ops broke the heavy silence.

Riker tugged at the sleeve of his uniform jacket, straightening in his chair. "Onscreen."

The image of the planet on the main viewscreen was replaced by the Enterprise bridge and Captain Picard. He got right to the point. 'Captain Riker, Astrometrics has been unable to get any clear sensor readings due to the interference. They have been able to pinpoint a likely location for Lieutenant Dax on the planet surface. We're transmitting those coordinates to you now. We've got some images of the area from a probe we launched into the atmosphere. It was destroyed before we could get much more than basic geography.'

"If we can't get a clear sensor reading, how do we know that Dax is even on the planet much less a specific location?" Riker asked.

'Doctor Odan had the idea to scan specifically for the presence of isoboramine, which apparently is a neurotransmitter unique to joined Trill,' Picard explained. 'There is a lot of interference, but the probe did isolate a single source of isoboramine on the surface.'

"No life signs?" Riker asked.

'There's too much interference with sensors.'

They'd be going in blind and with no guarantee that the aliens hadn't already removed Dax from Ezri. This could be a body retrieval and possible recovery of the symbiont. "Transmit the images that the probe got of that area to us. We'll prepare a rescue mission."

'Good luck,' Picard said as the communication ended.

Riker looked to Madden sitting to his right. As much as he wanted to lead the rescue himself, he was the captain now. That's wasn't his job anymore, that was now the duty of his Number One. "You're up."

...

On the Pasteur, Beverly stood in the corridor outside of the Central Medical bay, the primary center of the hospital facilities. The conversation she was about to have combined the worst things about being a doctor and a captain. It didn't really matter what uniform you were wearing; being the bearer of bad news was a heavy burden. Taking a deep breath, she straightened her shoulders and strode purposefully into the medical bay. She nodded to some of the staff on duty as she headed for Dr. Bashir's office. It hadn't surprised her that he was in his office while they searched for Ezri, that was probably where she'd be if she were in his shoes. Bashir looked haggard and she doubted if he'd slept much. "Doctor."

"Captain," Bashir started to jump to his feet only to have her wave him back down.

"We've found her," Beverly said, not wanting to belabor the reason for her visit. "At least the Enterprise thinks they've found her. They're having trouble getting a clear sensor reading, but a probe they launched into the atmosphere of the planet below picked up the presence of isoboramine just before the aliens destroyed it. The Titan is preparing a rescue mission now."

Excitement immediately gave way to alarm. "No life signs? The isoboramine only means that Dax is down there."

"They can't get a clear reading," she reiterated. She could sympathize with him, knowing exactly how it felt to face the loss of a loved one. Right now, however, there was a protocol that the Trill Symbiosis Commission had established regarding the symbionts that needed to be put into motion. "Julian, under the circumstances we should probably have an unjoined Trill standing by to receive the Dax symbiont. Do you want me to-"

For a second, he seemed ready to argue with her. Then it almost looked like he deflated right in front of her and he wearily stood. "No, I'll notify-wait, do you have the readings on the isoboramine?"

Beverly turned his computer monitor around and accessed the readings that the Enterprise had transmitted earlier. She spun the monitor back around to show him.

"She's alive," he sighed with relief, smiling for the first time since Dax had been taken. "These isoboramine levels are too high for the link between host and symbiont to have been disrupted."

"I'll contact the Titan to let them know," she said, relief in her voice as well.

Bashir headed for the door to his office. "I'll have trauma teams standing by to receive injured. Tell them to just beam everybody to Triage Bay One."

...

Commander Madden checked his phaser rifle again and then surveyed the rest of his people to see many of them re-checking their equipment as well. He had elected to use Flyers since they wouldn't have been able to see where they were transporting. Ideally they'd be able to get a transporter lock on Lieutenant Dax as soon as they entered the atmosphere, but he made a point of never relying on luck. They were using all four Delta-Flyer class shuttles from the Titan for this rescue. If they couldn't lock onto Dax, two of the shuttles would remain in the air to engage any enemy ships that attempted to intercept them. The other two shuttles were carrying strike teams. The Rustam and Timur would land, deploying their respective strike teams for a land rescue while the Sigurd and Macha provided air support. The second strike team was being led by Lieutenant Kronik, the Klingon warrior who, along with his mate, K'mae, constituted the Klingon representation on the expedition. Kronik's strike team would engage any enemy combatants, clearing the way for his team to locate and secure Lieutenant Dax. Every member of his strike team was carrying an emergency transponder. Once they located Dax, a transponder would be activated and placed on her. The Enterprise was monitoring the transponder's frequency, as soon as they received the signal, they would drop their shields long enough to transport Dax to the Pasteur.

"No go on the transporter lock," the ensign at the ops station reported. "There's too much interference."

"Not unexpected," Madden said. "Advise the other shuttles that we're executing Plan B." This was what they trained for. The drills and combat simulations that every individual on the Titan completed regularly was intended to keep them sharp for situations exactly like this. He had been a bit amused if not really surprised at how many of the Starfleet soldiers on Kronik's strike team had chosen to carry Klingon bat'leths in addition to their Starfleet-issue weapons. Obviously Kronik's team spent enough time training with non-energy weapons that they felt comfortable carrying them into unknown situations. All that mattered was that they got the job done. His own team was carrying phaser rifles and hand phasers, but they were all more than competent with hand-to-hand combat. Sounds of weapons fire got his attention and their shuttle rocked under a glancing blast.

Several minutes later, the two shuttles landed and the strike teams deployed. Madden took a couple of seconds to get his bearing, the planet was bog-like, hot and humid with pools of viscous fluid dotting the landscape. They had set down near the coordinates where they believed Dax was being held and he nodded to two of his people who took up defensive positions to secure their shuttle. A short distance away, Kronik was doing the same. One of his team members was already scanning the area with a tricorder. With a short hand gesture, he confirmed the direction of the isoboramine source. A series of hand signals between Madden and Kronik conveyed the information and both teams prepared to move. Madden waited for Kronik's team to move out, his team following behind them at a short distance. Less than five minutes later, the sounds of weapons fire and Klingon battle cries alerted them that Kronik's team had engaged the aliens. Madden's team silently but swiftly flanked Kronik's team and slipped past the battle. This was their strategy. With Kronik's team keeping the aliens occupied and hopefully drawing as many as possible away from Dax, his team would face less resistance in getting to her. Once Dax was secure, his team would backtrack to help Kronik's team with any aliens still fighting. From his brief glance, there seemed to be a hodgepodge of alien races that comprised the enemy forces. Leaving Kronik to deal with that, his team continued on.

Before they reached the source of the isoboramine signal, a rock wall blocked their way. Tricorder readings indicated the isoboramine was just on the other side. A narrow passageway between some rocks was the only route through, going over the top was not an option and the corridor was too tight for more than one person at a time. It was a perfect place for an ambush and Madden held his breath until they successfully reached the other side. The passage opened onto a large lake surrounded on all sides by rock walls. In the center of that lake was their objective; Dax was submerged up to her chin with her hands chained over her head to a pulley. She appeared to be unconscious with some ugly bruises on her face. Bare arms suggested that she'd been stripped of her clothing, which explained why they hadn't been able to locate her communicator signal. Weapons fire from multiple points around the top of the rocks surrounding the lake drove his team back into the narrow passage.

"Commander," the team member who had been using the tricorder to locate Dax spoke up. "That stuff she's submerged in is emitting the same bio-electric interference that we've been detecting from the alien vessels."

"We're going to need to get her out of there before she can be transported," Madden concluded.

"Yes, sir."

Madden handed his phaser rifle to one of his men. "She appeared to be unconscious, which means we can't just take out the chains holding her. I'm going in after her. Fan out and lay down covering fire. After I reach Dax and get a grip on her, I'll signal. Stevens, I want you to take out the chain."

Staying low, Madden waded into the liquid. It was thicker than water and felt almost slimy against his skin. The bottom dropped out abruptly several steps in, obviously Dax was being held up by the chains more so than simply being held in place. The viscosity of the fluid made it more difficult to swim, the added resistance requiring extra effort to move. He could hear weapons fire around him, but he stayed focused on reaching his objective; his men would handle the rest. Finally he managed to get to Dax, relieved to see her take a breath. She was alive. The thickness of the liquid did give him buoyancy, making it a little easier to tread water as he nodded to the shoreline. Stevens was his best marksman; it would have been a challenge to shoot out the chain with his hand phaser and keep a grip on Dax at the same time. Trusting his soldier to make the shot meant that he could concentrate on securing Dax. The chain fell the instant Stevens hit it with a shot from his phaser rifle and Madden pulled Dax to him, submerging her briefly in order to use his own body to shield her from the heavy metal as it dropped. As soon as he could, he adjusted his grip on her and drew his hand phaser to shoot off the chain closer to her hands. The extra weight of the metal would slow him down in getting her back to the shore. Just then a shout from behind him got his attention and he spun just in time to see phaser fire striking a creature that had been swimming toward him in the lake. It took several more phaser blasts to destroy the creature. Nodding his thanks to his team, he set off back toward the shoreline with an unconscious Dax in tow.

...

"Nice," Riker muttered to himself. The Titan was holding its own against the swarm of vessels attacking them in orbit and the Enterprise was doing an impressive job of defending both itself and the Pasteur. The power needs of maintaining the bio-plasmic gel-repelling bubble around both ships left the Pasteur unable to participate in the fight. He had just watched a torpedo launch from the Enterprise but instead of the expected detonation, hundreds of small mines had been released from it to surround several of the attacking ships. The mines exploded in concert a moment later, destroying one of the smaller vessels and driving two others back with extensive damage.

"Captain," Ops reported. "The shuttle Macha is transmitting coordinates of the launch port where the alien vessels are coming from on the surface."

Riker considered the information. "Still no response to our hails?"

"No, sir."

Riker tugged at the sleeve of his uniform. "Do we have a status report from either strike team?"

The ensign at Ops worked at her console for several seconds. "The Sigurd has confirmed with Commander Madden's team that Dax has been located. They're working to secure her now. Both strike teams are more than five kilometers from the coordinates that the Macha relayed."

"Advise the Macha and Sigurd to clear the area," Riker instructed. He nodded to Tactical. "Load torpedo bays two and three with tricobalt devices, set the yield to 15,000 teracochranes each. Target those coordinates and fire when ready."

...

Sounds were the first thing she became aware of, many muted conversations coming at her from several directions. Ezri couldn't make sense of anything being said. When she tried to reconstruct why she wasn't waking up in her quarters, she realized that her last memory was the ship going to red alert. With that came the conclusion that she was probably in one of the medical bays. Opening her eyes, she winced against the brightness of the lighting.

"Welcome back," Bashir said. He had been reviewing the results of her bio-scans and noticed her waking up. He reached out to caress her cheek softly. "You've been causing quite a lot of trouble lately, you know."

Ezri nuzzled her face into his palm. Flexing her arms and legs, she noted the stiffness in her shoulders and general weakness in her entire body. "Sorry about that. How badly was I hurt?"

"Do you know what happened?"

She shook her head, trying to sit up. When the room started spinning, she gave up and laid back down, closing her eyes against the wave of vertigo. "Not really, the ship went to red alert, it sounded like we were under attack. The next thing I know, I'm waking up here feeling like Torias did the morning after his bachelor party."

Bashir noted the pallor in her face and glanced at the bio-bed readings to make sure her condition was stable. Alarms would have sounded if her vital signs fell outside of the normal range, but he needed to see for himself anyway. "You don't remember being kidnapped? It took us more than a week to track you down and rescue you."

"What?" Alarmed, she tried to sit up again only to have another wave of dizziness flood over her.

Bashir eased her back onto the bio-bed. He sat down on the bed beside her and stroked her hair until the bio-bed readings returned to normal. "Shh, it's all right, it's over. You're safe, just lie down and rest."

Her mind was racing, a week of her life was just gone. There was a brief flash of unfamiliar surroundings not long after the ship had gone to red alert. "I think I remember being transported off the ship; I have this vague memory of a small . . . shuttlecraft? Something hit me, I tried to fight back but I couldn't."

While she was talking, Bashir finished reviewing the PADD with the results of her medical evaluation. He noticed something in her scans and snagged a medical tricorder, rapidly running it over her. He tried to keep his tone casual to avoid frightening her any further at this point. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," she assured him. "I only feel dizzy when I try to sit up. I'm sore and tired, I can't believe how weak I feel, but there's no pain anywhere."

"What about Dax?"

She looked at him curiously. "Fine, why? Are my isoboramine levels falling again?"

"No," he rushed to reassure her. "The link between you is stable. I'd just like a Trill doctor to double-check these scans. Close your eyes and rest, I'll be right here when you wake up. I promise."

...

Captain Crusher was re-reading the very disturbing report for the tenth time, hoping against hope that the contents would somehow change. Things seemed to keep going from bad to worse lately. Her ready room door slid open to admit Picard and Riker. She gave the two men a tense smile of welcome. "Jean-Luc, Will, have a seat. Can I get you anything?"

Both men declined, settling themselves in the chairs in front of her desk. Once they were both seated, Picard spoke. "How's Lieutenant Dax?"

"Ezri is pregnant," Beverly announced succinctly. She stood up and reached across her desk to hand them each a PADD. "That's the reason I asked you both to join me here in my ready room. Scans of Ezri after the rescue picked up the presence of a fetal symbiont growing in her uterus. It appears to be a combination of genetic material from the Dax symbiont and the creatures that the Tauri referred to as Theoenas."

Riker immediately slapped his communicator. "Riker to Titan."

"Belay that," Beverly snapped, instantly on the defensive.

Madden's voice came over Riker's commbadge. 'Titan here.'

"Stand by, Number One," Riker said as he closed the channel. "You just said that Dax has been infested with-"

"A parasite," Beverly finished for him. "Thank you, I'm aware of the issue."

Riker stood up. "This parasite represents a clear, immediate threat to the security of this expedition or don't you remember our last encounter with them when they came very close to taking over Starfleet Command?"

Beverly also stood, her height putting her eye-to-eye with Riker. "Lieutenant Dax is a member of my crew and this is a bio-medical situation. That makes it my responsibility and I'll deal with it."

"I assume this situation has been discussed with Lieutenant Dax and Dr. Bashir?" Picard asked calmly, still sitting.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, she got her temper under control before responding. "Julian was the one who made the discovery. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, Ezri has no memory of the conception. They apparently kept her unconscious the entire time she was with them. She's upset, confused and frightened, and not sure about terminating this . . . pregnancy for lack of a better term."

"She can't intend to keep it!" Riker protested.

"That's not your decision to make," Beverly argued. "I will not force her to undergo an abortion procedure and at this point she's refusing to consent."

Picard waved them both back to their seats. "Both of you are correct. This is a bio-medical situation so, for the time being, the ball's in your court, Beverly. Obviously this is a complicated situation and Lieutenant Dax's feelings must be taken into account. However, this fetus that she's carrying does pose a serious threat to the safety of the people on this ship. To that end, Will does have the authority to post a detail here on the Pasteur to ensure that this parasite that Dax is carrying stays contained. They do not have the authority to take any action against Lieutenant Dax or this fetal parasite without provocation or evidence of imminent threat. Agreed?"

Both of them still bristling over their jurisdictional dispute, they reluctantly conceded to Picard's authority, which superseded both of theirs. He was the senior captain, the fleet captain of the expedition, although he generally stepped back and allowed them to handle situations that fell under their respective authorities. Bio-medical issues were Crusher's responsibility as Captain of the hospital ship, while military issues involving the safety and security of the expedition were Riker's responsibility as Captain of the military escort. All other issues, including First Contact, politics, and scientific research was Picard's responsibility as well as resolving any internal disputes such as the current situation.

"Was Dax aware of this fetus or its creation?" Picard asked.

Beverly shook her head. "From what Dr. Bashir has explained to me, all of the symbiont's perceptions are filtered through the host's senses. With Ezri unconscious, Dax wouldn't have the ability to see, hear or feel anything. Dax felt weak, but Ezri just associated that with how she was feeling in general. If you're ready, we can move this to the conference room. I've got essential personnel assembling for a briefing, I just thought we should discuss this privately first."

Picard inclined his head in a silent gesture of respect. "Who all are you including?"

Beverly accepted his unspoken acknowledgement. She'd expected Riker's reaction and hadn't wanted their argument to be played out in front of their officers. Standing up, she moved around the desk and headed for the door to her ready room with the two men behind her. "I've asked Julian to provide someone from Medical. He's very knowledgeable about Trill symbionts but he's barely left Ezri's bedside and I'm not inclined to order him away from her. Deanna, as head of the Psychology Department. Ezri reports to her so she definitely needs to be in the loop on this. Under the circumstances, I'd like Deanna to evaluate Ezri's state of mind; I want to be certain that Ezri's decision is actually her decision. I took the liberty of asking Chakotay to beam over and to bring Vash with him. Aside from our own limited experience with these parasites back on Earth, the only information we have on these creatures is the history and mythology we gathered from the Tauri and their neighbors. Vash may be able to discern the seeds of truth in the legends from this sector on the Theoenas. Commander LaForge and Lieutenant Commander Randall will also be joining us."

As the three captains were entering the conference room, Dr. Bashir stepped off the turbolift and followed them in. He settled into his seat at the table.

"Doctor Bashir," Picard chose the seat next to him, directly across from his wife who was engrossed in the contents of a PADD she was working on. "How is Lieutenant Dax doing?"

With that simple, seemingly casual question, all of the quiet conversations going on around the table stopped and the room fell silent, everyone exchanging uncomfortable looks. Bashir started to give an answer, stopping and starting several times before shrugging in frustrated silence.

"You don't need to be here, Julian," Beverly said.

"It's fine," Bashir assured her. "The guardian is with her right now, so I'm just in the way down there anyway."

"Guardian?" Riker asked.

"A Trill telepath," he explained. "They're unjoined Trill who tend to the symbionts. They're able to communicate directly with the symbionts independent of the host. He's trying to make contact."

Beverly sat forward, resting her arms on the table in front of her. "Has the guardian been able to sense anything from the fetus?"

Bashir shook his head, no. "And, according to the guardian, Dax has no connection with the parasite either. The guardian spent time getting acquainted with both Odan and Dax before we left and he's confident that Dax is unchanged by this experience. However this thing was made, the genetic material was taken without any cooperation or participation from Ezri or Dax."

Deanna had already sent a message to her office on the Enterprise instructing her assistant counselors there to clear her schedule. "How is she handling this?" she asked Bashir, fully aware of his internal struggle.

"I'm not sure," he admitted with a tone of defeat. "She's not really talking much. I've never seen her withdrawn like this before."

"Could this parasite be affecting her?" Riker asked.

Deanna was the one who answered. "I think it's more likely that she's still trying to process everything. This is a lot to handle. Sometimes it's not easy to put words to feelings and when you can't define it, it feels even more overwhelming. She may just need some time to sort her feelings out."

Riker's jaw was tightly clenched, the only outward sign of his concern. "Time isn't going to fix anything. What happens when this thing reaches maturity? Do we even have any idea of how long that will be?"

Beverly kept her voice even and her body language composed. "We're just beginning the process of gathering information. Let's cross one bridge at a time here."

"We do have a specimen to study," Bashir said. "One of the Titan's people from the rescue had it in her hands when she was transported aboard. It was dead. Apparently the Klingon exoskeleton was a bit more than it bargained for. It slowed the parasite down when it attempted to penetrate the skull and K'mae was able to rip it out of her neck, crushing it with her bare hands. She suffered muscle and nerve damage, but there was no spinal chord or brain involvement. Her injuries have been repaired, but we can't be sure the creature didn't release some sort of toxin while it was trying to penetrate. We're keeping her for observation for a couple of days to be safe. In the meantime, a team of exobiologists and medical personnel are already dissecting it."

Randall offered his security report on the situation. "Per Captain Riker's orders, I had a security team standin' by in triage when people were beamed aboard followin' the rescue. Brain scans were done on everybody from the surface, but when they found that critter in Dax's stomach, I ran a ship-wide scan with internal sensors to make sure no others got onboard."

"Nice job," Riker said. "I'm recommending the Titan and Enterprise do the same."

"Agreed," Picard concurred.

Chakotay had been silently considering the situation. Now he offered his thoughts. "You know, those creatures that we encountered on Tama, the Goa'uld, used humans as incubators for their young. From what that one guy, Teal'c, told me, it takes a Goa'uld larva decades to reach maturity."

"Decades?" Julian echoed incredulously.

Vash disagreed with Chakotay's supposition. "There's nothing in the mythology surrounding the Theoenas to suggest that here. In that alternate universe, there was an entire culture surrounding those symbionts and their offspring. All of the references here focus on the back of the head and Theoenas being spawned of pure evil. One rather obvious parallel involves the origin of the Greek goddess Athena who, according to the stories, leaped from Zeus's head with a shout, fully grown and armed, and 'pealed to the broad sky her clarion cry of war'."

"Pindar," Picard recalled the quote. "So if the parent creature like the one that inhabited Remmick on Earth spawns these parasites fully grown and ready to infest another being, why procreate this way with Dax?"

"Genetic memory," Chakotay suggested. "Those Goa'uld symbionts were born with all of the knowledge and memories possessed by the parent Goa'uld. If these Theoenas have genetic memory, it could have been trying to collect the knowledge of Trill symbionts through this offspring."

Vash scanned through the material on the PADD she was holding. "Genetic memory would fit with references to the Theoenas 'knowing' things about people. The descriptions convey an almost claircognizant ability distinct from either telepathy or clairvoyance."

"So this baby parasite could hold the entire history of both its parent's races," LaForge summarized, "Theoenas and Trill."

"I don't really care what it knows," Bashir said. "I care where it is."

Beverly calmly held her hand out in a soothing gesture. "We are all concerned with that. Has she changed her mind about-"

"No," he sighed.

"Does it pose any threat to her health or to Dax?" Beverly was hoping for something that would justify overriding Ezri's wishes.

"Not so far."

She brought up an idea she'd been mulling over. "If it already possesses the knowledge of its race, would it be worth bringing other telepaths from the expedition in to try to communicate with it? I know the guardian hasn't had any luck yet."

"I'd like to talk with Ezri first," Deanna broke in. "Having a parade of telepaths invading her mind and body after what she's been through may make matters worse."

Riker still had concerns. "What about safety? We can't just let this thing have free rein here. We have no idea what it might be capable of."

"You're not seriously suggesting that we put Ezri in the brig!" Bashir exclaimed.

When Riker didn't immediately answer, Picard stepped in. "Of course not, Doctor. Under the circumstances, some precautions are in order, however. As a hospital ship, there are areas designed for quarantine situations, I assume?"

"She wants to go home, back to our quarters," Bashir countered.

Deanna sided with Bashir. "It would be best for Ezri to be in comfortable, familiar surroundings; someplace she feels safe."

"Can she safely be discharged to her quarters?" Beverly directed the question at her CMO; the glare she shot at Riker dared him to open his mouth.

Bashir nodded. "Mostly she needs rest. We can affix monitors, a cortical monitor to track any changes to her and a second one on her abdomen to monitor the parasite's development. If anything changes, we'll be instantly alerted."

"All right," Beverly made her decision. "Release her to her quarters with the monitors. Captain Riker will be posting *two* of his people here as a precaution, but for the time being we'll just concentrate on collecting as much information as we can on these Theoenas. Deanna, I'll want a report from you on Ezri's mental status as soon as possible. I'd also like Anthropology's report and I'll relay the results of the necropsy and analysis of the dead Theoena to Captains Picard and Riker as soon as I have that report from my people. If there's nothing else, Mr. LaForge and Mr. Randall, get with Captain Riker to work out the security details."

...

Deanna stood in the doorway, quietly observing Dax. Once the fetal parasite had been detected, Ezri had been moved out of the main medical bay and into a private room. She was sitting up in the bio-bed with both hands cradling her abdomen. Her face had a vacant expression as she stared blankly at the wall but internally her emotions were roiling uncontrollably. A short distance away in the corridor, Will was giving instructions to two soldiers from his crew who would be relieving the Pasteur's security detail guarding Ezri. She fought back a surge of annoyance with him although from his reaction, he felt it anyway. She knew that he was just doing his job. There really wasn't much of a parallel with Ian; that had been so long ago and Ian had merely been curious, not malicious at all. Ezri's situation was far less benign and Will's response was proportional if not as sensitive to Ezri's feelings as preferable.

'Imzadi, be careful,' Riker's thoughts broke through her own. 'That's not just Lieutenant Dax in there.'

'*She* is just a woman who has been through an ordeal,' Deanna thought back. 'Tell your people to keep their presence to a minimum. There's no reason to make her feel like a pariah while they're doing their job.'

His gaze focused on hers. 'They'll be doing tricorder scans of everyone leaving her room to make sure that thing stays where it is. That will include you and no, tricorder scans hardly constitute a strip search. It's a reasonable, non-invasive security precaution. I will instruct them to wait until the door has shut so that Dax doesn't see it.'

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes at him, she relented. 'Fine, thank you.'

With his thoughts still caressing her, Deanna re-focused her attention on Dax who was still absorbed in her own more dark thoughts. Quietly entering the room, she adjusted a chair beside the bed to a more convenient position and sat down to wait. Being a good counselor wasn't about knowing what to say, it was more about knowing how to listen. Silence was hard and so was watching someone in pain. People would say anything and everything to fill the uncomfortable silence and try to make someone feel better. Deanna knew that there were no magic words she could say that would make this any easier. People meant well when they tried to tell someone not to cry or that they shouldn't feel however they felt, those just weren't necessarily helpful responses. As Ezri's counselor, the way she could most help was to simply sit here and let Ezri have whatever reaction she needed to without being told how she should feel.

"I've had nightmares about it," Dax said after five minutes of silence had passed. "How stupid is that? I was unconscious, I have no idea how this . . . this . . . fetal tissue got inside me. What I do know is that there's only one entrance to that body part from outside."

"Your mind is trying to make sense of things," Deanna noted, "filling in the gaps in your memory."

"And when it's a trauma you can't remember, your mind tends to jump to the worst-case scenarios," Dax sighed. "I know, that just doesn't help when I swear I can feel a giant slug crawling up my . . . "

When violent shudders took over Dax's body accompanied by heaving sobs, Deanna calmly moved to sit on the bed beside the distraught young woman and handed her a box of tissues. She laid a hand beside Dax on the bed, not forcing physical contact but letting Dax know that physical comfort was available if she wanted. The physical proximity did feel somewhat discomfiting, she couldn't ignore her own reaction. When someone was upset, however, sometimes a comforting embrace was all you could offer and Deanna wouldn't deny Ezri that, parasite or not.

"You'd think that eight lifetimes spanning nearly four hundred years would have prepared me for anything," Dax half-laughed through her sobs. "But no, I had to go and find a whole new experience that I have no idea how to handle."

"That's not true," Deanna countered gently. "You have the knowledge and the training, you just don't have the luxury of being the person on this end helping someone else through this. You are the one experiencing these emotions and that's what's making you feel helpless."

"That sucks," Dax groused, sniffling. "It's much easier to be on the other side of the proverbial couch."

Now Deanna did reach out, grasping Ezri's hand with hers. "You're not alone in this, Ezri. I'll be here as much as you need. Julian is hurting for you right now, he desperately wants to make this okay for you and Captain Crusher is also very concerned. Mrs. Picard is even planning to send you some of her private chocolate stash-the real stuff, not replicated."

That got the barest hint of a smile from Dax. Vash Picard's love of chocolate was almost as legendary as her exploits. With a hiccup followed by a deep, calming breath, Dax nodded. "You're right. I just can't decide how I'm supposed to feel. I start to feel like I've been raped but then I tell myself that I'm over-reacting. I was only impregnated."

"You don't want to define it as rape or you don't think it was rape?"

Dax threw a used tissue on the floor and grabbed another one. "I don't want any of this to have happened."

"But something did happen."

"My body was violated and an alien parasite left its seed behind." Her voice was shaky and tears were streaming down her face, but there was also a tinge of anger.

Deanna could feel the sense of revulsion Ezri experienced when she thought about the pregnancy so after she had regained some of her composure, Deanna pressed. "Considering your feelings, I'm wondering about your decision to not terminate the pregnancy."

"That would be Dax," Ezri said with a disgusted expression on her face. "My symbiont is curious about the 'miracle of life.' Symbionts don't procreate like this. It's a process more like automictic parthenogenesis and it only happens toward the end of their life span. That's why there are so few Trill symbionts in proportion to the humanoid population. Dax has been a mother and a father in previous hosts, but to actually have a child of its own like this is a new experience and the whole raison d'etre of symbionts is new experiences so here we are!"

Deanna noted the resignation mixed with a heavy dose of angry sarcasm. Wishing she had a better understanding of the dynamic between host and symbiont, she opted to remain silent. Anything she clumsily tried to ask about Dax might put her on the defensive and Ezri needed to talk it out without feeling the need to rationalize.

"I even put it to a vote," Dax continued. "I polled all eight of my previous hosts to see how they'd have felt in my shoes."

This was not the normal sort of internal struggle someone faced in a difficult situation. "And?"

"A tie," Dax snorted. "Four of my previous hosts would agree with me and get it out. Four of my previous hosts are on Dax's side and want to see it develop."

Following Ezri's lead and trying to tread carefully on unfamiliar ground, Deanna asked. "Did their reasons help you?"

"Lela and Tobin are fascinated by the scientific implications; a little 'curiosity killed the cat' if you ask me. Of course Tobin couldn't even bring himself to discipline his own children so the idea of killing any child for any reason just horrifies him. Jadzia's fascinated by it more than any of them, but she agrees that it could be just as fascinating in a test tube somewhere, so she's on my side. Curzon would rip it out with his own hands and declare a blood oath on its house, also a vote for me. Joran would vote to keep it, partly to torture me and partly because of its evil demon spawn heritage, so I don't know what his opinion is really worth. Torias, given his Starfleet experience, would see it as an enemy infiltrator, also a vote for getting rid of it. Dax feels a strong paternal bond with the idea of having been a part of the conception which would melt Emony. Audrid's time with the Symbiosis Commission would give weight to Dax's wishes but the forced violation of the host body would override that; a vote for me."

"What does Ezri want?"

"I want it out," she told Deanna. "But you don't understand, it's not that simple. I didn't ask to be joined, but I am and life isn't as easy when there's more to you than just yourself. If I terminate this . . . condition, I'll have to live with Dax's disappointment for a very long time. It would be one thing if I were absolutely certain of how I felt, but I'm not. I'm confused; the violation of my body and this fetal tissue is all lumped together. Even if I do get rid of one, the other is not just going to disappear."

"You're right."

"So would it be fair to Dax to get rid of this fetus when it wouldn't take away what's bothering me anyway?" Ezri asked, wiping her nose and tossing the tissue on the floor to join the others there. "It would be easier if there was a medical reason, if it started to threaten my health or the link between host and symbiont the way insect bites do. Then it would be necessary, no choice."

Deanna considered her next words very carefully. "Does Dax truly understand how you feel about all of this?"

"Yes," Ezri gave a tremulous smile. "My symbiont does understand and is trying to help although none of the hosts before me ever experienced anything like this. If I just can't take it and decide to end this, there'll be disappointment but acceptance. I just feel like I need to try to endure this if I can, for Dax."

Deanna wiped a stray tear from Ezri's cheek. "Dax is lucky to have such a strong host."

...

Chakotay pressed the door chime to Beverly's ready room and waited for her to respond. Almost immediately the door slid open to her acknowledgement but when he stepped inside and she saw who it was, he watched her expression change. While it would be nice if she always looked like seeing him was the highlight of her day, he'd at least prefer that she didn't look unhappy to be in his presence. Her face went from a distracted glance to a frown and she pushed herself away from her desk. Turning her back on him, she went to her replicator and ordered herself a cup of coffee without even bothering to ask him if he wanted one. He'd had the regular poker game on the Enterprise last night. Beverly and Will were both still welcome, but neither of them attended anymore. Kate Pulaski had taken Beverly's place in the game and Reg Barclay was the newest face at the table, replacing LaForge. LaForge hadn't wasted any time getting senior staff poker games started on the Pasteur and Beverly enjoyed spending that time with her own crew. Chakotay knew he could join the Pasteur's game, but he thought it was better for the Pasteur crew to have their own game without any outsiders. By the time he'd gotten home after his poker night, she was already asleep and she was gone when he woke up this morning. Between a Gamma bridge duty shift on the Enterprise, his regular workday and the poker game, they hadn't actually spoken since the briefing where Ezri's situation had been initially discussed.

"If that's the Anthropology Department report, just leave it on the desk."

"I'm sorry," he said hesitantly.

Beverly turned around to face him, confusion replacing the frown. "Why?"

Chakotay shrugged, a grin tugging at his lips as he laid the report on her desk as ordered. "That's usually the right response to that tone of voice."

Closing her eyes, she exhaled loudly before allowing a smile to play across her own face. "Ironically, that tone was a preemptive response to what I was afraid you were going to say, although I do appreciate your preemptive assumption of guilt."

"Can I ask what it is you think I'm going to say that you don't want to hear from me?" he asked. "Just for reference purposes." He arched an eyebrow at her and, when she nodded in response, he crossed the room to where she stood. Brushing her hair off her shoulder, he let the back of his hand caress her cheek.

She nuzzled his hand and allowed herself to relax. "I need you to not offer me an opinion on this situation. I'm not saying it's fair of me, but everybody else is taking sides on this issue and I just need you to not take a position on this-at least not with me."

Taking her coffee from her, he set it back in the replicator and slid his arms around her waist to pull her to him. With their bodies pressed tightly together, he waited until he felt her arms wrap around him and her head drop to rest on his shoulder. He knew this was a divisive issue, he'd heard the conversations and debates going on everywhere. Truthfully, he didn't really know where he stood on it. There were valid arguments being offered on every side; there were also a lot of rash, emotional responses on both sides as well. No matter what her final decision was, many people on the expedition would disagree with it. The captains were the final authority on each of their respective ships with Captain Picard holding the ultimate authority over the expedition. So, whatever her decision, the only person who could override it would be Picard. That wasn't what she needed to hear at this point. She was trying to make this decision as both a doctor and a captain, but the typical physician responsibilities to the patient was in direct conflict with her responsibility as captain to her ship and the people on it. "Remember what I told you about Crell Moset?"

"You're going somewhere with this that won't require you to take up residence on the couch in your office aboard the Enterprise, aren't you?"

Her voice was muffled by her position resting against him and when he began chuckling, she lifted her head to share his laughter. Seeing her beautiful face lit up with amusement and hearing her sweet laughter after the obvious tension she was feeling when he'd first arrived made him feel immeasurably better. "I only wanted to point out that the incident in which all of the information about him came up bears some parallels. B'Elanna Torres refused to allow a hologram of Moset to be used in efforts to remove an alien that had attached itself to her in spite of the risk to her life. Captain Janeway had to decide whether or not to abide by B'Elanna's wishes or overrule her. Katherine sent her logs along for Captain Picard to use on this expedition. I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you reviewed her log entries from that incident. I know it's not quite the same thing, B'Elanna wasn't refusing the procedure just the hologram and knowledge being used to attempt the procedure. Still, I downloaded the relevant logs, both hers and mine, in case you want to read them."

"Thank you," she brushed her lips softly across his. "That is actually helpful."

Chakotay caught her face, cradling it in his hands to deepen the kiss. His tongue coaxed its way into her mouth, the familiar spark of desire that had always existed between them flared immediately. When she moaned into his mouth, her tongue challenging his, he moved his hands down to cup her hips and rock their bodies together intimately. He licked and kissed along her jawline to whisper in her ear. "I can think of one or two other ways to be helpful."

Beverly groaned with frustration and shoved him away with her hands on his broad chest. "Not here and not now."

"You want me," he murmured with a wink. "You really want me bad."

She lightly smacked his chest and reached over to pick up her cup of coffee. "You are bad. How is it that we've christened my desk here but not your desk on the Enterprise?"

"Don't forget the couch over there."

Pursing her lips at him, she walked over to her desk and sat down in her chair, resolutely crossing her legs. "And if the monitors on Ezri go off, just how would I explain my disheveled hair and state of undress?"

"Very creatively?"

That did get a chuckle. The man could be downright incorrigible, but this was also exactly what she needed from him. "Okay, not that it will influence my decision but where would you stand on this if I were to allow you to have an opinion."

Chakotay walked over to perch on the edge of her desk, looking down at her. "I don't know. I haven't seen the medical reports or talked to Dax herself about this. Commander Data filled me in on the attempt those alien parasites made to take over Starfleet. Still, I don't have all of the information that I would want if I was the one making this decision. Whatever decision you make here, I know it'll be based on a careful consideration of every aspect of the situation and everyone involved. You're a good captain, Fireball. You're also a good doctor and a good person. I don't think there is a right or wrong answer to this, but I think you'll find the best possible answer."

Beverly reached out to stroke his thigh. "I'm glad you have that confidence, because I'm not sure I even truly understand the question much less where to find the answer."

"Keep touching me like that and we'll have to re-visit the question about the more carnal uses that we've put this desk to."

Holding her hand up in a tacit gesture of capitulation, she sat back and took a drink of coffee. "Seriously, how is it that we've never put your desk on the Enterprise-F to such uses?"

"We've got plenty of time for that," he said. "I'm thinking birthday present, maybe?"

"Your birthday present or mine?"

...

LaForge left his office on the Pasteur and nearly ran over Lieutenant Commander Randall. "Mark, I was just on my way to the bridge. Is there something you need?"

"Security report, Commander," Randall handed him a PADD.

"Walk with me," LaForge said, scanning the information on the PADD as he headed for the turbolift. "Any incidents to report?"

The Chief of Security shook his head before answering in his Texas drawl. "Not the kind you're thinkin' of, just the usual squabbles. I have included a plan in my report for securin' that parasite baby after it's born."

"What have you got?" At this point, the parasite was contained in Dax who had been moved to her quarters where she would remain confined until this matter was resolved. The captain had asked him to come up with some contingency plans for the possibility that this parasite would mature and be kept on the ship outside of Dax's body-alive. He'd asked Security and the Biological Sciences departments to submit their recommendations for a secure facility to maintain the parasite in if and when it was ready to be born.

Randall gestured at the PADD. "The Botanical Sciences department has an area on Deck 13 set up for studyin' dangerous plant life. It's already set up with restricted access and a closed environmental system, sealed off from the life support systems through the rest of the ship. If we use one of those labs, all we'll have to do is set up a few additional security monitors and establish a dedicated security feed to the Titan so their people can monitor everything goin' on in there. I've also been looking at duty schedules to figure out how I'm gonna arrange a security detail for the lab unless Captain Riker wants his people to handle that."

LaForge stopped at the turbolift and turned to look at Randall while they waited. "You don't sound too enthused."

"My wife is on the team studyin' these critters," Randall told him. "I'd rather just shoot it out the nearest airlock and be done with it. Keepin' it alive is risky and for no good reason. I'm not the only one who feels that way, either."

"That's Captain Crusher's decision to make, not ours," LaForge said. The turbolift doors opened and he stepped inside. "Just keep the ship safe from it, that's your job."

Randall's expression hardened. "I know my job, Commander and I'm doin' it."

"I'll look over your recommendation and take it to the Captain," LaForge told him. "Carry on."

…..

Beverly tapped on the transparent glass door of the office and waited to be waved in. She felt like she was walking a tightrope with Will just waiting for her to lose her balance so he could swoop in and take over. It wasn't that she feared for Dax's safety with him in charge, Will was a good man, a good captain. In a way she supposed that she still felt like she needed to prove that she could handle the big chair and everything that went with it. She had reviewed reports from the Trill doctor in charge of Ezri's case as well as the preliminary results of the analyses that the Biology lab had conducted on the fetus and the dead specimen. The Anthropology Department had compiled every reference to parasitic life forms from the information exchange with the Tauri and nearby races as well as the findings from the archaeology dig that Vash had been on. She also had Deanna's assessment of Ezri's mental and emotional state. Apart from any analysis that could conceivably be conducted, there was only one other individual on the expedition who could truly understand the predicament that Dax was in. She wasn't sure what she was looking for specifically, more of just a better understanding in general.

"Doctor Beverly," Jax Odan started to stand up. He caught himself and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Captain Crusher."

"That's fine, Dr. Odan," Beverly gave him a smile. "Actually I always liked the way you called me that, it was endearing."

Odan motioned for her to take a seat as he sat back down at his desk. "I'd ask to what I owe this visit, but I would guess that this is in regards to Dax."

"Then you are aware of recent developments?"

"Oh yes," his face conveyed the same concerns that she saw in everyone involved. "I have been to see Lieutenant Dax. I don't really know her or Dax well, I just wanted her to know that she was in my thoughts. I've also been scanned down to the microcellular level to provide a comparison to scans of the Dax symbiont."

Once again Beverly found herself studying Jax's face for any hint of familiarity. Aside from the way he called her 'Doctor Beverly', there was nothing of the Odan she'd known. "I'm not really sure why I'm here. There's so much I don't know or understand about the relationship between host and symbiont. I have decisions to make, difficult decisions, and I want to make sure I can truly comprehend the ramifications."

"If you're looking for a simple answer, I am afraid that I'll have to disappoint you."

Beverly shifted in her chair, her discomfort not really physical. "I understand and I'm not looking for you to . . . I need an answer to something, Odan, something only you can tell me and I need you to be completely honest."

Odan sat forward, his demeanor serious. "Of course, Captain Crusher."

"Just how much control can a Trill symbiont exert over a host? When I knew you, you . . . the symbiont seemed . . . "

"Those were most unusual circumstances," he jumped in to explain. "Riker gave me full control of his body voluntarily and with the understanding that it was temporary. With Kareel, well, you saw for yourself how a symbiont's personality can overwhelm a new host. It is possible for a symbiont to dominate a host, which is why only initiates with the strongest sense of self pass the screenings. Away from your intoxicating presence, Kareel Odan found a more stable balance between host and symbiont."

His words and the intensity of Jax's expression cause Beverly to flush. Jax didn't share Odan's feelings for her and she loved Chakotay. What she'd shared with Odan was in the past. This was just a conversation that was meant to help her understand the internal conflict that Ezri Dax was struggling with in the present.

"Your concern is obviously about Ezri Dax," he continued. "Once a Trill is joined, a new personality slowly develops as the host incorporates the symbiont and the memories of all of the hosts who have gone before into their own psyche. That is the time during which a symbiont or even one of the previous hosts can become dominant over the new host. Once the merged personality has stabilized, it wouldn't be possible for the symbiont to completely control the actions of the host. Influence certainly, but that's all."

"Do you feel?" Beverly asked. "The symbiont, I mean. Does Odan feel pain, hurt, loss, love, happiness? Or is the symbiont simply aware of those feelings in the host?"

Jax sat silent for a full moment, considering his response. "Yes to all of the above. Physical pain is rarely independent of the host body's pain. Emotionally, symbionts do have their own reactions to experiences independent of the host. They can feel love that the host does not share. They can feel the loss of a loved one or grieve at the loss of a host. It may be a fact of life for our kind to outlive those around us, that doesn't mean it's easy."

Beverly didn't really know why it made her feel better to know that Odan, the symbiont, had grieved as much as she had for what they lost. Somehow it just mattered.

"Symbionts can also recall every feeling, every experience of every host they've ever had," Odan continued. "Dax is sharing in Ezri's emotional turmoil, a pain that the symbiont will remember and experience far beyond Ezri's lifetime. As long as they've been joined, their bond is strong and deep. It's a bond that even unjoined Trill can't truly appreciate. I've not sure I could put it into words. The bond between a married couple is barely a shadow of the relationship between host and symbiont."

"If you, Jax, were in Ezri's position . . . "

Odan grinned despite the seriousness of the question. "That would raise a whole new line of scientific curiosity, wouldn't it?"

"Odan, please," in spite of her frustrated sigh, a smile tickled the ends of her mouth. He had put some of her concerns to rest. She felt like she was starting to see the situation through Ezri's eyes and some of what was in the psychological evaluation carried a stronger impact.

"If this situation had happened to Kareel," he began. "I'll admit that I might feel the same way as Dax. I've been a mother in past lives, things get a little crowded for a few months but feeling the baby moving and kicking right next to you is quite the experience."

Beverly's hand moved of its own volition to cover her stomach, recalling the feel of Wesley moving and kicking inside her so many years ago.

"Those babies are human, there is nothing of the symbiont in them. To create a new symbiont life, it's not as common of an occurrence as procreation among humans. I could easily imagine feeling the same way toward this fetal symbiont-parasite as any of my previous hosts have felt toward their unborn offspring. The circumstances behind the creation are disturbing and regrettable, no question. Ultimately, it is still Dax's baby."

...

Julian was sitting at the desk in the quarters he shared with Ezri. He should be catching up on the work that had been piling up over the past few days, instead he was poring over the reports submitted on the parasite research by the various departments. He had the medical reports memorized, he could cite every vital statistic measured on Ezri for the past two days. The results of the research being done in the biology labs went straight to Captain Crusher so he had to access those reports after they were submitted. Ezri was resting in their bedroom. She was home, confined to their quarters for the duration of her . . . he couldn't bring himself to think of it as a pregnancy. An alien parasite was using her body as an incubation chamber no matter how anyone else, even Ezri herself, chose to think about it. Physically she was recovering from her ordeal; emotionally she was still quiet and withdrawn. She had such a sweet, bubbly personality; sometimes she reminded him of a pixie, especially when she smiled. To watch her listlessly wander around their quarters with a lost, pained expression on her sweet face and not be able to do anything to help was tortuous. He wanted to just excise that tumor out of her uterus, get that alien seed as far away from her as possible. The fact that Ezri didn't want that frustrated him. Everything they'd been through on Deep Space Nine seemed to pale in comparison to what faced them now. He noted the change in the readings coming from her cortical monitor and put a smile on his face just as she came out of the bedroom. "Hi there, how was your nap?"

"Fine," her voice was flat, monotone. She shuffled over to the window, trailing her finger across the pane and staring out into the blackness. She was wearing drab gray Starfleet-issue sweatpants and an undershirt with one of Julian's bathrobes over it.

He shut down the monitor and got up to join her over at the window. It was getting easier for him to touch her. Ironically, physical contact didn't bother her at all; it was everyone else, including him, who felt awkward about touching her. He wanted to hold her and he knew that any movement from the parasite in her uterus would set off alarms both here on the Pasteur and on the Titan. The first day or so he'd forced himself to act as normally as possible. Now the thought of the parasite in her body was a millisecond blip between reaching her and reaching for her. It was gratifying to feel her lean back against him, resting against his chest and snuggling into the embrace of his arms. Almost reflexively, he tightened his grip on her. They stood there in front of the window with him watching the reflection of Ezri staring blankly into space. "It wasn't fine, you're having nightmares."

She tried to reassure him that it was normal, that she'd expect someone who had gone through this type of ordeal to experience post-trauma reactions including nightmares for months at least. A few days was only enough time for the reality of the experience to hit home. When she opened her mouth to say all of that, her lip started quivering too violently for any of the words to form. Tears welled up in her eyes and she turned to bury her face in Julian's chest, wrapping her arms around his waist. Julian was her anchor, she needed him but not to fix this for her. She just needed him to stand right where he was and hold her while she cried.

In that moment, he wasn't thinking about the parasite or anything that had happened over the past week. Right then and there he just wanted to protect Ezri from the rest of the universe. The frustration at not being able to came through in his voice. "Why are you putting yourself through this?"

"I didn't choose this, Julian," a hiccup undercut the anger in her words. Annoyance at the way he'd ruined the moment drove her to shove him away. "It happened, I wish it didn't but it did."

"Carrying that thing inside you is just torturing yourself," he argued. "Why won't you just get rid of it?"

"Erasing this," she gestured toward her abdomen still struggling to call it a baby. "Erasing this won't erase what happened."

"Do you think keeping it will make what you went through mean something?" Julian asked.

Stomping away from him, she stopped in the middle of the room and turned back to face Julian. She ran her hands through her short, dark hair in frustration. "Dax wants this, getting rid of it won't change what happened but keeping it is important to Dax. Please try to understand."

"Are you sure it doesn't know anything about the conception?" Julian's tone was accusatory. "Maybe he enjoyed the procreation and wants a souvenir to remember it by, never mind what this is doing to you."

"Julian!" Ezri gasped. "That's not fair. Really Dax was the one violated, it was my symbiont's genetic material that was taken. I was just the venue."

Throwing his hands out, Julian shouted. "Once again Dax gets into a situation and just expects the host to take the consequences."

She started to argue, to defend Dax but he cut her off.

"I know Dax, Ezri. I've known him longer than you have; maybe not better, but how many times did he nearly cost Jadzia her life?"

"Jadzia was her own woman," Ezri countered. "She wanted Dax, she spent her life working towards being joined. Becoming Jadzia Dax was everything she ever wanted to be and she never regretted the life she lived as a Dax."

"What about Kahn?" Julian shot back. "If Nilani hadn't walked away, Dax was ready to risk everything to violate your law on reassociation."

When she realized that she was biting her nails, she forced her hands behind her back, clasping them there. "Do you really want to do this, Julian? Will a litany of Dax's sins really help?"

The argument that he'd been gearing up for suddenly just evaporated. "No, it won't. I'm so sorry, Ezri. I just hate that he's putting you through this."

"Dax isn't putting me through anything," she closed the distance between them and rested her hands on his chest. "Dax is a part of me and this baby is a part of Dax. I know it's . . . believe me, I know. I just can't . . . Ezri Tigan would have aborted this the second it was discovered but I'm not her anymore and I haven't been for a long time. I'm Ezri Dax and that means something. Please, Julian, I need you to understand that I have to do this."

He stroked her cheek softly. "I wish I could, Ezri, I really wish I could understand. It doesn't matter, though, because no matter what we're in this together. I'm not going anywhere. I will be right here with you through thick and thin."

Her hands cupped his face, drawing it down to hers for a tender kiss. She felt so completely alone. She felt isolated even on a ship of hundreds, part of an expedition that included several thousand people, most of whom knew exactly what those alien parasites had done to her. She even felt like a stranger inside her own body and there were many moments over the past few days when she had the urge to rip her own skin off. Julian loved her. If it hadn't been for Dax . . . she'd fought against being joined but the truth was that Dax had brought so much into her life, including Julian. He didn't understand and he was angry with the part of her that was Dax right now but he was here with her, that was the only thing that mattered to her at that moment. He loved her and she needed to remember that, she needed to feel that more than anything. Wanting to erase the nightmares with a more pleasant memory, she forced her tongue into his mouth to deepen the kiss. His uniform jacket was already unfastened so all she needed to do was strip it down his arms and toss it aside. Her hands pulled his shirt out of his trousers, sliding up underneath to caress the smooth skin of his torso.

This was what he had wanted for days. After the strain of her kidnapping and the endless days that had passed before they'd finally found her, he'd wanted nothing more than to go to sleep with her in his arms. Instead he'd spent the days since her rescue trying to make sense of what had happened and what was still happening to her. Yelling at her was the last thing he wanted to do. He hadn't intended to start a fight with her; the frustration had just gotten the better of him. At least they were talking, she was talking to him. Even with the argument, this was the closest he'd felt to her in days. He acquiesced to her, allowing her to control the pace. His body responded without hesitation, the feel of her fingers sliding up his body sending blood rushing through him. He reached for the fastening of her robe, untying the belt and pushing the fabric away to get to the petite curves beneath. It was when he pulled her hips to his that the reality struck him. Abruptly he broke off the kiss and took a step back. "Stop, Ezri, we can't."

Forcing her eyes open, her tongue flicked out to moisten her kiss-swollen lips. Her breathing was a bit labored when she asked, "What's wrong?"

"I can't," now it was Julian's turn to run his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Not now."

He didn't want her, he didn't want to touch her or be with her because of what that alien parasite did. She felt all of the blood drain from her face and she stumbled back a step.

He saw her face go white, her spots looking even darker against the paleness of her skin. For a second he thought she was going to faint and when she staggered backward, he reached for her. He was confused by her reaction to him, crying and struggling against his grip. Listening for the monitor alarms, he needed to calm her down before he could check the readings. "Ezri, what's going on? Are you all right? Is something happening?"

"You don't want me," she cried, still trying to get away from him. "You can't even bring yourself to touch me."

Pulling her against his chest, he held her tight against him until she had calmed down. "That's not true, I do want you, Ezri, more than anything right now. It's just a little crowded in there at the moment."

"You've never been bothered by Dax being in there," Ezri noted as she wiped a tear away.

That wasn't entirely true, it had felt a little strange at first. When Ezri and he had finally gotten together after all the uncertainty that led up to it, Dax was the last thing on his mind. "I'm not worried about Dax doing unspeakable things to me while I'm in there. I can't say the same about that fetal parasite you're carrying."

Ezri burst out laughing. "Oh, Julian."

...

"What the hell is this?"

Vash involuntarily jumped when Jean-Luc's strident command tone suddenly barked behind her. She didn't remember hearing the doors to their quarters open. Closing a cabinet, she turned to set the box of carefully chosen confections on the dining table. "Chocolate?"

Picard stalked across the room to toss a PADD on the table so that it slid toward his wife. "I meant this."

She picked up the PADD and quickly scanned it. "Since when do *you* bother with inter-ship transporter schedules?"

"When the head of my wife's security detail brings it to my attention that she is beaming into a hazardous situation."

"How the hell did he-? Damn it, Karita," she muttered rolling her eyes. "She must have gone running to Sean right after our conversation and, of course, Sean went running straight to you." When she'd casually mentioned to her assistant that she was taking the afternoon off to go visit Ezri, Karita had expressed concern and tried to dissuade her but Vash had chalked that up to the young woman's skittish nature.

Picard tugged at his jacket, trying to keep his temper under control. The panic that shot through him when the security officer had walked onto the bridge and informed him of Vash's plans was obliterating every other thought. The distance between the bridge and his quarters never seemed so great until he was racing to get here in time to stop her. "The young man was doing his job."

"Since when does transporting over to the Pasteur constitute a hazardous situation?" Vash snapped. "He was seriously out of line."

"He was exercising more common sense than you are," Picard countered. "You know exactly what's over there, don't play games with me."

She threw the PADD back at him. "No, I don't and what's more, neither do you. I was in the meeting, at the moment it's just fetal tissue of suspect origin."

"This is entirely too dangerous for you to play your little 'ask forgiveness rather than permission' game." Picard caught the PADD and slammed it down on the table.

Normally his Captain Overprotective was sexy, but in being overprotective of her he was demanding that she ignore a friend in need. She had been getting to know Ezri and hearing stories of some of the Dax symbiont's previous hosts. She would have loved to meet Curzon in person, they would have been good friends. "Since when do I need permission to pay a visit to a friend."

"When that *friend* decided to harbor a dangerous alien in her body, putting everyone on this expedition in danger."

In the briefing, Jean-Luc had provided the calm, objective voice of reason. She realized that it had been too much to hope for that he would be just as rational behind closed doors. "Ezri is the victim, not the enemy, Jean-Luc. She didn't choose for this to happen and this situation isn't nearly as simple as you and half the people on this expedition seem to think it is. She's not putting anyone in danger, this fetus isn't even threatening her or Dax at the moment. She needs to know that she has friends who support her. I'd hate to think of her locked in her quarters all alone because everyone was too scared to go see her. I understand why she can't go wandering around wherever, but if it were dangerous, Beverly would have placed a restriction on visiting her. She didn't so I'm going to visit a friend and take some chocolates to hopefully make her feel a little less horrible."

"I don't want you in the same room with that thing," he ordered. "Beverly may not have seen fit to place restrictions on transporting to the Pasteur, but this is my ship and I can restrict transport off of it. I can lock you in these quarters if I choose to, little girl. I am the captain here."

Vash glared at him silently for a full moment. Deliberately picking up the chocolates from the table, she shot another glare at him almost daring him to follow through on that asinine threat. Marching purposefully toward the door, she snarled a parting shot over her shoulder. "You have now veered off from gallantly heroic past annoyingly overprotective right to overbearing jackass."

...

Picard was shoving PADDs around his desk, trying to focus on the endless work that seemed to consume his days but not really able to concentrate. When the chime to his ready room door sounded, he practically barked out the command to enter.

"Jean-Luc," Beverly walked into the ready room with a casual greeting on her lips.

"Captain Crusher, it's about time," he snapped at her before she could get any more than his name out. "I've been waiting for your report."

Beverly looked a bit askance at his tone. "I'm sorry, Captain Picard. I didn't think the data stream transmission was going out for another twenty-six hours. Has the schedule changed?"

Sighing, he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "No, I'm sorry, Beverly. The schedule hasn't changed, I'm just a bit out of sorts."

"Anything you want to talk about?"

Picard gestured toward the sofa along the wall, inviting her to make herself comfortable. Retrieving two cups of tea from the replicator, he joined her on the sofa and handed her a cup. After all of their decades of friendship, Beverly was someone he could talk to about anything, even more so than Deanna in her role as ship's counselor. In fact, since Beverly had accepted her own command on this expedition, their equal status as colleagues had actually deepened their friendship. He had taken on the role of mentor to her, recalling the trials and tribulations that he had faced as a fledgling captain himself and wanting to help her find her footing. On this expedition, he had truly come to value her friendship and these talks over tea or the occasional glass of Aldebaran whiskey. "Vash and I had a fight."

Beverly paused with the tea cup at her lips. "Will was the last one to blow anything up, so it can't be related to archaeology."

"She's over on the Pasteur visiting with Dax," he told her.

"Let me guess, you had an objection to her going which came out as an order not to," she surmised.

Sighing, he took a sip of his own tea. "More or less; it's not that I doubt your handling of this situation or the security precautions that Will has put into place. I'm just not happy with my wife being on the same ship as that thing, much less in the same room."

"That thing," she reminded him, "is a fetus currently residing in my ship's counselor. I do understand your concerns, Jean-Luc. I've been reviewing every medical text I could find, looking at the research on the viability of hybrids and, as awful as it sounds, hoping that this fetal Trill-Theoena hybrid wouldn't be viable."

"What do your experts say?"

Beverly handed him one of the PADDs she had with her. "Here's my complete report to include in the data stream. There doesn't seem to be a viability issue. There is evidence of growth and development, although no indication of awareness. It hasn't responded to any stimuli or telepathic efforts at communication. They're using the necropsy results on the dead parasite that K'mae brought back from the planet as a comparison to follow the development of the fetus. Some geneticists on the Pasteur are pursuing the idea of genetic memory, working on decoding its genetic profile. They may be able to come up with something eventually."

Picard skimmed through the various reports contained on the PADD. He'd already seen Vash's analysis of the mythology on the Theoenas and the final report from the Anthropology Department on the Tauri encounter. He located Deanna's psychological assessment. "Lieutenant Dax is still refusing to terminate this alien pregnancy?"

"Technically this pregnancy is half Trill symbiont," Beverly noted.

"How much longer?"

Not sure what he was asking, she tilted her head with a questioning expression. "If you're asking about the gestation period, we have no idea. This is completely uncharted territory. The Trill symbionts don't reproduce like this and, according to Vash's analysis, it's unlikely that the Theoenas use humans as incubators either. You will be either relieved or amused to note that nowhere in her final report does she even suggest an archaeological dig to learn more about these creatures."

That did get a grin and subdued chuckle from Picard. Vash might be irrepressible, but she wasn't completely irresponsible.

"The amniotic fluid inside the placental sac surrounding the fetus is an amalgamation of enzymes and proteins. Its molecular structure is nearly identical to the fluid in the pool where Ezri was found. There was enough of the fluid on her body and soaked into Commander Madden's uniform that they were able to run a detailed analysis for comparison. Whether the parasite queen artificially constructed the amniotic sac for the fetus and filled it with the fluid or the process by which the fetus was created produced it is undetermined. As soon as our people are reasonably confident that they can successfully transfer this fetus into an incubation tank filled with a synthesized version of that amniotic fluid, they will. Until they do, Ezri will remain confined to her quarters. Given what she's been through, she needs time to recover anyway. Her assistant counselors can handle the workload and she'll be able to review their notes and supervise them from her quarters. Deanna will monitor the Pasteur's counseling office and provide support if need be in addition to regular sessions with Ezri."

That answered the question he'd actually been thinking. He sat back and crossed his leg, taking a sip of his tea. "You've decided not to force her to terminate this pregnancy. So what do you intend to do with it once it's born?"

"I don't know," she sighed. "We are carefully monitoring Ezri's condition. If the fetus even begins to move, the monitors will alert a medical team standing by. If anything about this pregnancy threatens Dax or Ezri, it'll be removed within minutes regardless of the risk to the fetus. Right now we're taking this situation one minute at a time. I just want to get my ship's counselor through this safely."

"There is an easy and quick way to do that."

"It's her body, Jean-Luc. That fetus may be a threat but it hasn't threatened anyone or done anything yet. Ezri has her reasons for continuing this pregnancy and whether I understand those reasons or not, she has the right to make decisions for herself about medical treatments. I have no medical, ethical or legal justification for overriding her wishes here. I wish I did and no matter how you feel about those parasites or how worried you are about Vash being over there with Ezri right now, you can't tell me that your decision would be any different than mine," she fixed a knowing gaze on him over the rim of her cup.

"That means we'll have a parasite from a race that nearly took over Starfleet in our midst," he pointed out, not bothering to argue with her last statement. "The ones responsible for Walker's death, Beverly."

Her eyes closed, the bittersweet memories of the day Walker had introduced her to Jack flashing through her mind. "I know that, Jean-Luc."

"I wouldn't allow this parasite to be implanted into anyone," Picard stated clearly. "I won't overrule your decision regarding Lieutenant Dax, but if you-"

"Do no harm," she clearly enunciated every word. "The most important part of being a doctor, first do no harm. My captain's rank aside, I am still a doctor and for you to even think that I would risk a human life for nothing more than curiosity is-"

Picard held a hand out to forestall her coming tirade. "Wrong and insulting, you're right. I seem to be putting my foot in my mouth every time I open it with the women in my life today. I'm sorry, Beverly."

"According to the Trill guardian," she nodded her acceptance of his apology and got back to the subject, "Trill symbionts don't typically join for decades after they're born so that's not even a discussion we'll need to have for hopefully a long while even considering its Theoena genes. By then, the guardian or another one of the telepaths might have been able to establish communication or our combined brain trusts on the expedition might find a technological means of communication. That's even assuming that it survives; as I said before, genetic hybrids aren't always viable. I hate hoping that this fetus doesn't live, but it would solve so many issues."

He hefted the PADD he was holding. "We may not have to deal with any of those issues. Once Starfleet reviews this report, they may order us to transfer the parasite back to the Alpha Quadrant for study when we rendezvous with the Starfleet ship for transfers and supplies in a couple of years."

"It might not be that simple," she cautioned. "The only reason that Ezri is choosing to continue the pregnancy is because of the Dax symbiont's wishes. Dax is one of the parental units to this Trill-Theoena hybrid and it's the Dax symbiont that does not want this pregnancy terminated. Even if Starfleet orders the return of this thing to the Alpha Quadrant, the Dax symbiont could choose to put forward a paternity claim and block any transfer of its offspring back to be dissected in a lab. Genetically, this fetus is half Theoena and half Trill symbiont, no human DNA. Dax would have a legal claim for custody."

Tossing the PADD onto the coffee table in front of the sofa, he uttered a soft, "Merde."

Shit was right, it was also one of the more mild curses that she'd used after her conversation with Odan when the ramifications of this being Dax's offspring occurred to her. There was a limit to his rights as a parent, he couldn't force the implantation of this thing into anyone. All he could do was demand physical custody and limit any experimentation on it. As upset and traumatized as Ezri had been with this, Beverly hadn't wanted to put Ezri in the position of having to make a decision about parental rights and custody at this point. She'd discussed the situation with Deanna who had agreed that it would be best to wait.

"I knew we forgot something," Picard said. When Beverly looked at him confused, he explained. "We don't have a JAG officer on this expedition."

"Actually we do," she pointed out. "That would be part of your job description."

This time he used one of Vash's more colorful strings of profanity.

"There are a lot of bridges to cross between now and then," Beverly offered. "We still can't be certain that this fetus will prove to be viable. Beyond the question of viability is the issue of Ezri's safety. I've spoken with Odan and he assures me that if the fetus threatens Ezri's well-being, Dax will agree to sacrifice the pregnancy to protect her. Ezri could decide that she just can't take it and choose to terminate the pregnancy regardless. If we can find a way to establish communication with it, it may choose to go back to the Alpha Quadrant willingly or ask to be released, which would be a whole different set of issues for you to consider. Even then, the Dax symbiont may not claim custody of it or may agree to send it back to the Trill homeworld to be studied by the Symbiosis Commission there. All of that is not even taking into account what we may learn about these parasites and this hybrid parasite in particular in the interim that could change our position on it."

"Or I could be convening a hearing to determine who has the superior legal right to this thing, Dax, Starfleet or the Symbiosis Commission," he countered. "Not exactly something to look forward to and I think I'll leave that out of tomorrow's data stream transmission."

"Prudent," she concurred. "I'll provide you and Will with regular updates in our weekly meetings."

Picard shared a knowing grin with her. "Will is not going to be happy about this."

"I'm not happy about this either, Jean-Luc," Beverly snapped. This was dividing everyone, even her own senior staff, with scientific curiosity and empathy for Ezri at odds with understandable fear. At least Chakotay was on her side, he agreed with her decision. For everyone else, it was a theoretical exercise; for poor Ezri it was stark reality and she was caught in the middle.

"I wasn't suggesting that you were."

Shrugging helplessly, she sighed. "I'm just trying to make the best decision under difficult conditions the way I've seen you do hundreds of times," she smacked his leg lightly in mock annoyance. "You didn't have to make it seem so easy."

He just chuckled. "If people knew the reality of the job, they'd never want it."

Beverly just shook her head with a half-smile. Reaching out, she picked up another PADD and handed it to him. "There is one more bit of business. Geordi's been working with my Chief Engineeer and they came up with a plan to increase the Pasteur's structural integrity. Apparently Geordi has a problem with the recurrent hull breeches that he's had to oversee repairs on. Anyway, I've already approved the plan, but we'll need some help from the Enterprise to implement it. There's a list there of the specific resources we'll need."

"This doesn't look like it'll be any problem," Picard said as he scanned through it. "We can discuss the implementation details at our next captain's briefing."

"By the way, if you'd like a peace offering to give Vash when you're apologizing tonight," Beverly began knowingly. "I have a tidbit of gossip that I haven't had the chance to share with her yet about my First Officer and Chief Engineer."

**FINIS**

"I fully realize that I have not succeeded in answering all of your questions . . . Indeed, I feel I have not answered any of them completely. The answers I have found only serve to raise a whole new set of questions, which only lead to more problems, some of which we weren't even aware were problems. To sum it all up . . . In some ways I feel we are as confused as ever, but I believe we are confused on a higher level and about more important things." -Author unknown


End file.
